M7.8 quake hits N. Japan, triggering blackout, fire

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, September 26, 2003

M7.8 quake hits N. Japan, triggering blackout, fire

Two powerful earthquakes, one measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, jolted southern Hokkaido early Friday, triggering extensive power outage and a fire in an oil refinery.

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Two powerful earthquakes, one measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, jolted southern Hokkaido early Friday, triggering extensive power outage and a fire in an oil refinery.

At least six people were reportedly injured by falling furniture. And two others were injured in an express train derail accident.

Two small fishing boats capsized in coastal waters in Samani, a fishing town in southern Hokkaido, Japan's national police agency said.

The first earthquake, which happened at around 4:50 a.m. (1950 GMT Thursday), centered in the Hidaka and Tokachi region, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The second quake struck at 6:07 a.m. (2107 GMT Thursday).

The meteorological agency located the epicenter of the first earthquake at about 80 kilometers east-southeast off Cape Erimo in southern Hokkaido. The focus of the earthquake was estimated at about 60 km under the Earth surface.

Both quakes generated tremors that measured a maximum intensity of lower 6 on the Japanese seismic scale.

Under the Japanese seismic classification system, which measures the intensity of tremors on the Earth surface, an intensity-6 earthquake is strong enough to damage houses, trigger landslides and crack up roads.

The meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the coastal areas in eastern and central Hokkaido and a tsunami alert for the coastal areas in western Hokkaido as well as in Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.

A fire broke out at a petroleum tank in Idemitsu Kosan Co.'s petroleum refinery in Tomakomai, a coastal city in southern Hokkaido, according to the NHK television.

The fire has been brought under control and is nearly put out so far, the television shows.

The earthquake prompted an automatic shutdown of a major thermal power station and caused extensive blackout in the area, the television quoted officials of the Hokkaido Electric Power Co.as saying.

Operation of the Tomari nuclear power station there was not affected, the officials said.

According to local analysts, the reason why so strong earthquakes in Japan caused only minor casualties is the government's well-spread quake-prevention efforts and the awareness about emergency self-protection among the public.

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