Tokyo (CNN) Yet another natural disaster has struck part of Japan, continuing a summer of chaos that has seen the country weather deadly floods, typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and heatwaves.
At least seven people were killed when a magnitude-6.7 quake struck the northern island of Hokkaido early Thursday, causing landslides which buried a large number of homes at the foot of a ridge.
Photo taken Sept. 6, 2018, from a Kyodo News airplane shows the site of a landslide in Atsuma, Hokkaido, northern Japan, triggered by an earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 6.7 that struck the region.
More than 150 people were injured by the quake, mostly in Sapporo, said Kazuya Isaki, an official with the Crisis Management Office of Hokkaido Prefecture Government. Dozens of people are missing in Atsuma, near the epicenter of the quake, where four of the deaths occurred.
Police search for missing persons around a house destroyed by a landslide after a powerful earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that flights and public transport across the region had been brought to a standstill
Nearly 3 million households lost power, according to the Hokkaido Electric Power Company. Officials said a main power station lost operations, affecting other sites. Independently owned power generators were assisting.
In this aerial image, houses are buried by multiple landslides after a powerful earthquake jolt on September 6, 2018 in Atsuma, Hokkaido, Japan.
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TOKYO: Devastating landslides caused by a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake in northern Japan claimed at least nine lives on Thursday (Sep 6), with dozens still missing as homes were engulfed.
Multiple, large-scale landslides struck the sparsely populated countryside, which was also hit by the edge of a powerful typhoon that surged through Japan earlier this week.
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Aerial views showed dozens of houses destroyed at the bottom of a hill, with a rescue helicopter winching a resident to safety.
Around 3 million homes lost power after the quake damaged a major thermal plant supplying the region.
The Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido, which was not operational before the quake, was forced to turn to emergency backup power to keep its cooling system working, NHK said.
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Kazuo Kibayashi, a town official at hard-hit Abira town, told AFP: "There was a sudden, extreme jolt. I felt it went sideways, not up-and-down, for about two to three minutes."
"It stopped before shaking started again. I felt it come in two waves. I am 51, and I have never experienced anything like this. I thought my house was going to collapse. Everything inside my house was all jumbled up. I didn't have time to even start cleaning," he added.
Moments after the initial quake, an aftershock measuring 5.3 rocked the area and dozens more aftershocks followed throughout the night and into the morning.
An area damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo. (Photo: Reuters)
Akira Fukui, from the main city of Sapporo, told AFP: "I woke up around 3am with a vertical jolt. I put the light on but it went out shortly afterwards. All the traffic lights are out and there's no power at work."
No tsunami warning was issued after the relatively shallow quake, which struck 62km southeast of the regional capital Sapporo.
"We will do our best to save lives," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after an emergency cabinet meeting.
NHK reported that nine people had lost their lives, many of them in the village of Atsuma, where the landslide engulfed the homes. Thirty-three people were still missing, the broadcaster added.
Local media said the dead also included an 82-year-old man who fell down the stairs at his home during the quake and that around 130 people had sustained minor injuries.
Around 20,000 rescue workers, including police and members of the Self-Defence Forces were responding to the disaster, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said. Another 20,000 SDF troops are expected to join the effort.
Police officers and rescue workers search for survivors from a building damaged by a landslide caused by a powerful earthquake in Atsuma town. (Photo: Reuters)
"I urge people in areas shaken by strong quakes to stay calm, pay attention to evacuation information... and help each other," Suga added.
"It's going to rain (in Hokkaido). Please be very careful of further landslides," the spokesman warned.
Japan is still recovering from the worst typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, which struck the western part of the country on Tuesday, claiming at least 11 lives and causing major damage to the region's main airport.
"RING OF FIRE"
Officials warned of the danger of fresh quakes.
"Large quakes often occur, especially within two to three days (of a big one)," said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis at the meteorological agency.
The risk of housing collapses and landslides had increased, he said, urging residents "to pay full attention to seismic activity and rainfall and not to go into dangerous areas."
A building damaged by a powerful earthquake is seen in Abira town in Hokkaido, Japan, on Sep 6, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Kyodo)
The earthquake also caused travel disruption, with all flights cancelled from Sapporo's main Chitose airport, where the quake brought down part of a ceiling and burst a water pipe. Local buses and trains and bullet train services were halted.
A friendly football match between Japan and Chile planned for Sapporo was cancelled, with the Japanese FA citing the quake's severe impact on power and transport.
Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said it would take "at least a week" for power to be restored to nearly 3 million homes after a fire in the area's largest thermal plant was discovered.
And the national meteorological agency warned that more bad weather could be on the way for Hokkaido, urging people to be vigilant for landslides, high tides and heavy rain.
Japan sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where many of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.
In June, a deadly tremor rocked the Osaka region, killing five people and injuring more than 350.
On Mar 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.
Japan is still recovering from the worst typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, which struck the western part of the country on Tuesday, claiming at least 11 lives and causing major damage to the region's main airport.
The Magnitude 6.7 quake struck 70 miles south of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido shortly after 7pm BST (3am Thursday local time), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Local government officials are reporting that a 82-year-old man has died after falling down the stairs in his home during the earthquake, and have confirmed that three more people passed away following the devastating tremor. Another 33 people are still missing. But public broadcaster NHK said that six people were found in cardiopulmonary arrest, a term commonly used in Japan before death is formally confirmed, and authorities expect the death toll to further rise as rescuers searched houses buried by landslides.
A further 120 people were injured, with at least 10 being taken to hospital. Japanese TV showed damaged buildings and quoted police as saying some people had been trapped in collapsed structures. The tremor, which lasted for about 20 seconds, triggered a landslide which covered homes in the rural town of Atsuma trapping residents inside. Aerial footage showed scenes of devastation, with mounds of reddish earth and toppled trees piled up at the edge of green fields, and the collapsed remains of what appeared to be houses or barns could be seen scattered around. Other scenes from the southeastern part of Sapporo showed crumbled roads and mud flowing onto a main street. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said officials have set up a command center to coordinate rescue efforts.
There were dozens of landslides and significant damage in the Sapporo
The entire island lost power for the first time since Hokkaido Electric Power Co was created in 1951, as shortly after the tremor the utility conducted an emergency shutdown of all its fossil fuel-fired power plants. All trains acros the island were also halted. Scared residents took to Twitter to share testimonies of the terrrifying night. One Twitter user said: “Just woke up to a pretty damn big earthquake in Sapporo. "I've been through quite a few before and I'm shaking like a leaf right now. In fact, we're getting an aftershock right now…”
Japan earthquake: A powerful Magnitude 6.7 quake has struck near Sapporo
The quake knocked out power to Hokkaido's 5.3million residents
They are likely referring to the 5.4 magnitude aftershock which hit Hokkaido island shortly after the main earthquake. The tremor struck at an approximate depth of 25 miles, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The epicenter was just 16 miles from the city of Chitose, home to Hokkaido's main airport. A Twitter user named Licia said: “My friends. We just had a major #earthquake here in Japan. #Hokkaido. #Sapporo. "We are in the dark, but otherwise fine. Omg! It was humongous. No information on magnitude. Internet still works for now.”
Houses were hit by landslides following the 6.7-magnitude quake
USGS said the earthquake is not expected to generate a tsunami based on its intensity, depth and historic tsunami records. Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido prefecture with a population of nearly two million people. Kenji Yamamoto, an official in Noborito, told public broadcaster NHK there were no reports of injuries or death in that town. Japan sits in the "Ring of Fire" arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Basin. The island nation accounts for around 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of Magnitude 6 or greater.
At least two people were killed and 38 were missing after the quake
A POWERFUL 6.6-magnitude quake has rocked the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, killing at least eight people, collapsing homes and triggering landslides that left dozens missing.
Multiple, large-scale landslides struck the sparsely populated countryside, which was also hit by the edge of a powerful typhoon that surged through Japan earlier this week.
Aerial views showed dozens of houses destroyed at the bottom of a hill that was engulfed by a landslide, with a rescue helicopter winching a resident to safety.
Around three million homes lost power after the quake damaged a major thermal plant supplying the region.
The Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido, which was not operational before the quake, was forced to turn to emergency back-up power to keep its cooling system working.
NHK News stream - massive landslides, probably assisted by heavy rain in the previous 30 hours. Some houses were in the wrong place. Hopefully there wasn't anybody home, but at 3:08 am there probably was #Earthquake @LastQuake @TTremblingEarth @Ambassador_SR pic.twitter.com/p5fLJyNEfN — Jamie Gurney (@UKEQ_Bulletin) September 5, 2018
Kazuo Kibayashi, 51, a town official at hard-hit Abira town, told AFP: “There was a sudden, extreme jolt. I felt it went sideways, not up-and-down, for about two to three minutes.
“It stopped before shaking started again. I felt it come in two waves. I am 51, and I have never experienced anything like this. I thought my house was going to collapse.
“Everything inside my house was all jumbled up. I didn’t have time to even start cleaning.”
Several people believed missing in the town of Atsuma, according to local police, after a landslide swept through homes.
“We urge residents in areas hit by strong tremors to heed information on television and radio and act by helping each other,” Suga told a press conference.
🇯🇵💢#𝗛𝗼𝗸𝗸𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗼 さっぽろ ほっかいど : amanece en Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Los daños son mas que todo estructurales, solo una noticia con 6 heridos, y algunos ascensores bloqueados por pérdida de energía.
🙏 pic.twitter.com/2J0XbMZhis — 🌐 (@GE0_data) September 5, 2018
TV footage shortly after the quake showed people coming out of their houses in the early hours of the morning following the quake.
“The government will work in unison towards reconstruction while giving the top priority to saving human lives,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters.
Officials warned of the risk of further quakes.
“Large quakes often occur, especially within two-three days (of a big one),” said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis at the meteorological agency.
He added the risk of housing collapses and landslides had increased in the area hit by the quake, saying: “We urge residents to pay full attention to seismic activity and rainfall and not to go into dangerous areas.”
Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where many of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.
In June, a deadly tremor rocked the Osaka region, killing five people and injuring over 350.
On March 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.
Japan is still recovering from the worst typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, which struck the western part of the country on Tuesday, claiming at least 11 lives and causing major damage to the region’s main airport.
