NEWS: Strong quake hits northern Japan, page 1

A strong quake has hit Japan with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1. Public broadcaster NHK said at least eight people were injured in the quake, which hit at 3:32 a.m. "This is considered a major earthquake. It has the potential to cause damage and casualties," said U.S. Geological Survey spokesman John Bellini, but he said because the quake hit a relatively sparsely populated area there would not be a lot of damage expected. One tsunami wave of 10 centimeters (4 inches) hit around 4 a.m. (1900 GMT), JAM said. The agency urged people along the coast to stay on guard.

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"We believe there is no unusual seismic activity," he said, adding minor aftershocks had hit the area and there would likely be more.

The focus of the earthquake was about 50 kilometers (31 miles) under the surface of the Pacific Ocean of southeastern Hokkaido about 800 km (497 miles) north of Tokyo, NHK said.

Trains were halted in the eastern part of the island and more than 600 homes suffered power outages, NHK said. But power began to be restored within about an hour.

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The earthquake of 1995 still remains in our memory, and will do for many years to come. Over 6400 people died in the quake in the western city of Kobe and measured 7.2 on the Richter scale. Japan is one of the world's most seismically active areas and accounts for about 20 % of the world's earthquakes with a magnitude of six or greater. This latest quake will put even more stress on the emergency services, as well as lower the stability of the local government.

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[edit on 28-11-2004 by Banshee]