Bottles and instant noodle bowls are scattered on the floor of a convenience store in Shizuoka, 200km west of Tokyo, August 11, 2009. [Xinhua]
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Bottles and instant noodle bowls are scattered on the floor of a convenience store in Shizuoka, 200km west of Tokyo, August 11, 2009. [Xinhua]
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TOKYO: An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale rocked eastern Japan early Tuesday, injuring more than 60 people.
The focus of the quake, which occurred at 05:07 am (2007 GMT), was located some 23 km under the sea in Suruga Bay, southwest of Tokyo, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, which estimated a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 for the quake and the depth of the focus at 20 km under the sea surface.
Police and local authorities said that more than 60 people were injured in the quake-hit areas though there have been no reports of deaths or missing people.
A task force was set up at the prime minister's office, and Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered task force members to collect information on the quake.
In Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, two nuclear reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear plant were suspended automatically. Central Japan Railway Co. temporarily suspended operations of Shinkansen bullet trains and local trains in Shizuoka and part of Nagano Prefecture. The Tomei Expressway were partly closed.
The surface of the road was lifted up at the Kikugawa interchange on the expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture, local media reported, citing the police. And there were also reports of landslides in the Prefecture.
In the cities of Shizuoka, Kakegawa and Shimada in Shizuoka Prefecture, the power supply was cut off for 9,500 households.