Japan Rocked by Powerful Quake

T O K Y O, Oct. 6 -- Japan’s strongest earthquake in fiveyears shook broad swaths of western regions today, injuringat least 12 people, destroying around two dozen homes and puttingthe region on alert for aftershocks.

The earthquake, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, struck ataround 1:30 p.m. (0430 GMT), with its epicenter some sixmiles underground in largely rural western Tottori prefecture.

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori told reporters at his officialresidence that there had been no deaths so far and that he didnot plan to set up an emergency task force.

“We believe that the quake has not caused any large number ofcasualties or any huge damage,” Tadao Ando, head of thegovernment’s crisis management team, told a news conference.

12 Injured

Police said at least 12 people were injured, including twoafter a Shinto shrine collapsed and one person who was taken tohospital with cuts from flying glass. About 24 homes weredestroyed, the police said.

Two people were rescued after being buried by landslides attwo construction sites in Shimane prefecture on the coast of theSea of Japan, a police spokesman said.

He said casualty figures for the region were likely toincrease as more details emerged.

Strongest Quake Since Kobe

The quake was Japan’s strongest since January 17, 1995, whena devastating quake killed more than 6,000 people and caused hugedamage in the western port city the Kobe.

Rural areas were among the hardest hit by today’s tremor,although the impact could even be felt in parts of Tokyo, about360 miles east of the worst-hit areas.

“I’ve never experienced such a strong earthquake in my life,”a woman in Yonago told NTV. “I run a beauty parlor and I grabbeda customer and held onto her and we both crouched on the floor.”

The Meteorological Agency said there was a 40 percent chanceof aftershocks measuring more than six on the Richter scalewithin a day.