December 18, 2009
TOKYO (AFP) - At least seven people were injured and more than 20 buildings damaged on Friday when a moderate earthquake hit central Japan and more than 100 aftershocks jolted the region.
The 5.2 magnitude quake struck at 8:45 am (2345 GMT Thursday), with the epicentre located off the Izu Peninsula in the
Pacific Ocean about 90 kilometres (55 miles) southwest of Tokyo, the US Geological Survey said.
The tremor shattered windows and cracked some roads and sidewalks, toppled over tombstones in a cemetery, caused the collapse of a hotel wall and damaged more than 20 other buildings in Ito City, eastern Izu.
Among those injured was a 78-year-old man who broke his hip when he fell on a stairwell, local officials said.
"We have continued feeling aftershocks," said Hiroki Ishii, an Ito city official. "We are trying to ask our citizens to be on alert while we are providing as much support for them as possible."
More than 100 tremors were recorded in the region from late Thursday, when an initial jolt was reported, as train services were temporarily suspended there, officials said.
"There is a possibility that similar-sized or even bigger earthquakes will occur," Takashi Yokota, of the Japanese meteorological agency, told a news conference. "Please be on alert when you are near fragile ground."
The Japanese agency put the quake's scale at 5.3, adding that there was no fear of a tsunami following the quake.
The eastern Kanto region, including Tokyo, was shaken by a separate 5.3-magnitude quake at 5:41 am (2041 GMT) although there was no damage, the USGS said.
Around 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes strike Japan.
