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WORLD NEWS Friday 7 September 2018

Big quake hits northern Japan, leaving 9 dead, 30 missing

By EUGENE HOSHIKO tures across the country.
HARUKA NUGA Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
MARI YAMAGUCHI said that up to 25,000 troops
SAPPORO, Japan (AP) — A and other personnel would
powerful earthquake Thurs- be dispatched to Hokkaido
day on Japan's northern- to help with rescue opera-
most main island of Hok- tions.
kaido triggered dozens As Japan's northern frontier
of landslides that crushed and a major farming re-
houses under torrents of gion with rugged mountain
dirt, rocks and timber, ranges and vast forests,
prompting frantic efforts to Hokkaido is an area ac-
unearth any survivors. customed to coping with
At least nine people were long winters, isolation and
killed, Prime Minister Shinzo other hardships. But the
Abe said. Officials said blackouts brought on by
at least 366 were injured, the quake underscored the
five of them seriously, and country's heavy reliance on
about 30 people were un- vulnerable power systems:
accounted for after the without electricity, water
magnitude 6.7 earthquake was cut to many homes,
jolted residents from their Buildings destroyed by a landslide block a road after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, train lines were idled and
beds at 3:08 a.m. northern Japan, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. phone systems out of order.
Nearly 3 million households Associated Press In the prefectural capital of
were left without power by Sapporo, a city of 1.9 mil-
the quake — the latest in Twenty-eight people re- was offline for routine able. NHK showed workers lion, the quake ruptured
an exhausting run of natu- mained unaccounted for safety checks, temporar- rushing to clean up shat- roads and knocked houses
ral disasters for Japan. in the town, Atsuma Mayor ily switched to a backup tered glass and reinstall askew. A mudslide left sev-
It paralyzed normal busi- Shoichiro Miyasaka told generator to keep its spent ceiling panels that had fall- eral cars half buried. By eve-
ness on the island, as black- public broadcaster NHK. fuel cool. Nuclear regu- en in the region's biggest ning the city's streets were
outs cut off water to homes, "We will carry on searching lators said there was no airport at Chitose. dark and shops closed.
immobilized trains and air- for them," he said. sign of abnormal radiation Japan is used to dealing Economy, Trade and Indus-
ports, causing hundreds of Miyasaka said the town — a concern after a mas- with disasters, but the last try Minister Hiroshige Seko
flight cancellations, and had emergency meals for sive quake and tsunami in few months have brought told reporters that the ex-
shut down phone systems. up to 2,000 people and March 2011 that hit north- a string of calamities. The tensive power outage was
In the town of Atsuma, that more than 500 had east Japan destroyed both quake came on the heels of caused by an emergency
where entire hillsides col- sought refuge in its emer- external and backup pow- a typhoon that lifted heavy shutdown of the main ther-
lapsed, rescuers used small gency shelters. er to the Fukushima Dai- trucks off their wheels and mal power plant at Toma-
backhoes and shovels to The landslides ripped ichi nuclear plant, causing triggered major flooding in to-Atsuma that supplies half
search for survivors under through some homes and meltdowns. western Japan, leaving the of Hokkaido's electricity.
the tons of earth that tum- buried others. Some resi- Japan's Meteorological main airport near Osaka The hope had been to get
bled down steep moun- dents described awaken- Agency said the quake's and Kobe closed after a power back up within hours
tainsides, burying houses ing to find their next-door epicenter was 40 kilome- tanker rammed a bridge and some electricity was
and farm buildings below. neighbors gone. ters (24 miles) deep. But it connecting the facility to gradually being restored.
The area's deep green hills "The entire thing just col- still wreaked havoc across the mainland. The summer However, damage to gen-
were marred by reddish- lapsed," said one. "It's un- much of the relatively also brought devastating erators at the plant meant
brown gashes where the believable." sparsely inhabited island. floods and landslides from that a full restoration of
soil tore loose under the The island's only nucle- Many roads were closed torrential rains in Hiroshima power could take more
violent tremors. ar power plant, which and some were impass- and deadly hot tempera- than a week, Seko said.q