Earthquake Rocks Islands, Leaves 1 Dead
T O K Y O, July 1, 2000 -- One person was killed and severalinjured when a strong earthquake hit islands to the south ofTokyo today, triggering landslides and cutting power.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori sent troops andhelicopters to the area to help with rescue work. Officialswarned more quakes could follow.
The island of Kozushima, 108 miles south of Tokyo,was hardest hit by the tremor that measured 6.4 on theopen-ended Richter scale and tore rocks from mountainsides, theMeteorological Agency said.
“I have never felt an earthquake as strong as this,” KenjiSakashita, a local Kozushima government official told NHK.
Officials said a 31-year-old man was killed when his car wasswept away by a rockslide. Two other vehicles were damaged.
Several residents of an old people’s home were injured.
Search for Injured
Fire department officials with megaphones patrolled thestreets in search of more injured.
The quake struck the lightly populated islands of Kozushimaand Niijima at 4.02 p.m.
It followed several smaller tremors in the last few days andwas felt as far away as Tokyo.
Officials said more earthquakes of a magnitude of more than5.0 were possible, but there was no danger of a tsunami, ortidal wave, churned up by the seismic activity.
Troops Sent to Islands
Prime Minister Mori headed to an emergency management centerin Tokyo a few minutes after the tremor and ordered helicoptersand troops to the islands to help in the crisis.
The earthquake comes just days after officials allowedresidents of the neighboring island of Miyakejima to go homeafter they were evacuated following strong seismic activity thathad raised fears the island’s volcano would erupt.
“The volcanic activity loosened the tectonic plates in thearea and caused conditions that could cause further quakes,” aMeteorological Agency official told a news conference.
The islands are part of a chain of seven south of Tokyo thatare popular tourist destinations for Tokyo residents.
Miyakejima’s Mount Oyama volcano last erupted in 1983,destroying 400 houses and leaving a moonscape of rock, burningout nearby forests and destroying a lake. A lava flow from aneruption in 1940 killed 11 people and it erupted again in 1962.
The volcano watch is the second for Japan this year.
In late March, a volcano erupted on Mount Usu on Japan’snorthern island of Hokkaido for the first time in 22 years.Thousands were forced to flee their homes. No casualties werereported.