Japan earthquake brings back memories of 2011 tsunami

Iwaki - At least 104 people were injured, including several who suffered fractures, but there were no reported deaths.

Trains were halted over a wide swath of northeastern Japan on Sunday after more than 100 people were injured in an earthquake that appeared to be an aftershock from the devastating quake that hit the area in 2011.

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As Aoi Hoshino swept up glass from bottles smashed in a strong earthquake the night before, one appearing to be an aftershock from a devastating quake that hit the Fukushima area in 2011.

The 7.3 magnitude quake struck shortly before midnight Saturday and cracked walls, shattered windows and set off a landslide in Fukushima, the area closest to the epicentre. More than 100 people were injured.

Hoshino, 46, swept broken glass from some 20 shattered bottles into a garbage bag in her shop on a back street in the city of Iwaki, roughly 200 km (120 miles) north of Tokyo and not far from the quake’s epicentre.

“We were hit by this coronavirus pandemic, and so we were looking forward to reopening our shops, and now this happens,” she said, referring to a locally declared state of emergency that had closed her bar from January and was set to lift on Monday.

“It’s just one thing after another.”

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake was believed to be an aftershock from the magnitude 9.0 quake on March 11, 2011 that set off a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000 people along a wide swath of northeastern Japan, and the Fukushima nuclear accident, the world’s worst in 25 years. The agency warned of aftershocks for several days.

Hoshino said Saturday’s quake brought back frightening memories.

“My body immediately reacted, and I couldn’t stop trembling. My legs were shaking too, but I couldn’t gauge whether it was safer to run out or stay in, so I ended up doing a weird little dance,” she said with a chuckle.

At least 121 people were injured, NHK national television said, including several who suffered fractures, but there were no reported deaths.

Buildings shook In Tokyo

The 11:08pm (1408 GMT) quake shook buildings in the Japanese capital Tokyo, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of buildings across eastern and northeastern Japan. By morning, though, power was restored to virtually all.

Several thousand households remained without water, forcing residents to line up with plastic jugs to receive water from trucks.

Though much of Iwaki appeared as usual, tiles had fallen from the front of at least one building, and the sound of broken glass being swept up echoed from several shops and restaurants.