VIDEO: Strong earthquake kills at least one, destroys houses in Japan
A car is seen crushed by a collapsed house in Suzu city, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. AP
A strong earthquake struck areas in central Japan, on Friday, killing at least one person and injuring 21 others, while relief teams are searching for a person stuck under the rubble following the collapse of a number of houses.
The 6.5-magnitude quake struck in the afternoon at a depth of 12 kilometers, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Meteorologists warned citizens of the possibility of aftershocks or landslides in the coming days, but they ruled out the risk of a tsunami.
A local government official in the city of Suzu, who asked not to be named, told the official NHK network, “There was a big tremor for a long time, which lasted about two minutes. I was afraid because the shaking did not stop.
Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters in Tokyo that one person was killed in the quake and that there were "many reports of building collapses."
The dead man fell from a ladder, said an official with the Suzhou Disaster Management Service, adding that 21 other people were injured.
The firefighting and crisis management services said that at least three buildings were destroyed, with two people were trapped inside. One of them was pulled from the rubble and taken to hospital, while paramedics searched for the other person.
Scenes broadcast by the NHK network showed destroyed or twisted traditional wooden houses, smashed windows and damaged roofs. In one of the aerial views, the foot of a collapsed mountain can be seen.
An official holiday in Japan in what is known as the Golden Week, when a large number of people travel for entertainment or visit relatives.
Express trains between Nagano and Kanazawa, a popular tourist area, were halted, according to the Japan Railways Company, and resumed after less than two hours.
The magnitude of the quake was 6 on the Japanese Shindo scale of 7.
The American Institute of Geophysics estimated the earthquake's strength at 6.2 degrees, saying: It struck close to the coast, but the Japanese Meteorological Agency determined its epicenter on land. According to the Japanese minister in charge of managing earthquake disasters, Koichi Tani, there have been reports of landslides and some people resorting to shelters.
Japan is constantly exposed to earthquakes due to its location in the "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific Ocean, which is witnessing high seismic activity.
This region extends from Southeast Asia to the Pacific basin.
However, Japan applies very strict building standards to ensure that buildings can withstand a strong earthquake, and often conducts emergency drills associated with a major earthquake.
