- Title: JAPAN: EARTHQUAKE ROCKS TOKYO AND SURROUNDING AREA
- Date: 20th September 2003
- Summary: (W3) TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 20, 2003) (REUTERS) WIDE OF EXTERIOR OF LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY HEADQUARTERS VARIOUS, INTERIOR OF LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY HEADQUARTERS ELECTION HALL SHAKING WITH THE QUAKE CLOSE OF PORTRAIT OF JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER KAKUEI TANAKA VARIOUS OF CAMERA CREWS AND OFFICIALS HOLDING UP POSTERS OF CANDIDATES DURING QUAKE (4 SHOTS) (U3) TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 20, 2003) (REUTERS) WIDE OF SOFUKUJI TEMPLE EXTERIOR CLOSE OF LANTERN SLV INVESTIGATORS SETTING UP A POLICE TAPE AROUND THE TEMPLE ROOM WHERE THE WALL COLLAPSED SMV OF INVESTIGATORS POINTING AT WALL THAT FELL VARIOUS OF THE INVESTIGATORS ROLLING OUT THE TAPE CORDON SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) SOFUKUJI MONK SAYING: "At 12:55 there was a earthquake here and and part of the wall here collapsed and fell on the people that were below it. The injuries weren't too bad but we sent for an ambulance to get them to the hospital." PAN FROM DAMAGED WALL / INVESTIGATORS SETTING UP THE POLICE CORDON WIDE OF DAMAGED ROOM
- Embargoed: 5th October 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MITO, TOKYO, YOKOHAMA CITY, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Disasters,Environment,General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA2R4ATBVPOKZIEE49EJKYDCGDF
- Story Text: Strong earthquake rocks Tokyo and surrounding areas
in Japan.
An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale
jolted Tokyo and nearby areas on Saturday (September 20),
as cameras set atop city buildings recorded the shaky shots
of the stricken cities.
In Yokohama City, the Rainbow Bridge seemed to slightly
sway from side to side as a camera recorded the images at
the time of tremor.
Several people were injured, but there were no reports
of major damage.
Some of the injured were praying at Tokyo's Sofukuji
Temple when the earthquake struck.
"At 12:55 there was a earthquake here and and part of
the wall here collapsed and fell on the people that were
below it. The injuries weren't too bad but we sent for an
ambulance to get them to the hospital," said the head monk.
Seven people were taken to hospital with light injuries.
The quake, with its epicentre 80 km (50 miles) below
the surface in the Pacific Ocean east of Tokyo, occurred at
12.55 p.m (0355 GMT), the Meteorological Agency said.
The tremor did not seriously affect transport.
Japan sits atop the junction of at least three tectonic
plates, immense slabs of the earth's crust whose gradual
movements are thought to cause earthquakes, making it one of
the world's most earthquake-prone regions.
About 500 people were injured and a similar number of
homes damaged or destroyed in a quake in July in Miyagi
prefecture, 300 km (185 miles) north of Tokyo.
Memories are still vivid of the earthquake in the
western city of Kobe that killed more than 6,400 people
eight years ago.
That quake measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.
The Great Kanto earthquake of September 1, 1923
measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and killed more than
140,000 people in Tokyo and the neighbouring port city of
Yokohama.
Seismologists say it would be at least another 100
years before an earthquake of the same size and type
strikes Tokyo, but warn that other devastating tremors
could hit at any time. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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