-The quake hit shortly after 3 AM (Local Time) on the western part of the island, leaving everyone in the dark. The Meteorological Agency estimates the magnitude was 6.7.
-Prime Minister Abe says his government has set up an emergency task force that is putting a priority on search and rescue
WEB DESK
An early morning earthquake has triggered landslides, caused widespread damage and left the whole of Japan’s northern Hokkaido prefecture without power, reports NHK.
According to TV reports Strong aftershocks have followed and thousands of rescue crews are being mobilized. There have been no deaths reported. But the number of injuries is rising. At least 125 people are hurt and about 20 missing.
The quake hit shortly after 3 AM on the western part of the island, leaving everyone in the dark. The Meteorological Agency estimates the magnitude was 6.7.
Near the epicenter, landslides wiped out homes in Atsuma. All of the missing are from this town of 40 residents.
Helicopter crews are carrying out rescue operations.
So far about 10 people have been lifted to safety. But officials say 5 people are buried in the rubble and 2 are injured.
The extent of the damage is still being assessed but throughout the prefecture buildings are tilted, and roads are cracked and buckled.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his government has set up an emergency task force that is putting a priority on search and rescue. He says 25-thousand Self-Defense troops will be sent.
Evacuation shelters are being set up in many towns and cities.
Workers at the airport are checking the runways and flights will resume once they are deemed safe.
Shinkansen bullet train service is suspended.
Local trains have also stopped.
Many roadways have large craters and gaps that have made it impossible for vehicles to operate.
Public bus services have shut down and many highways have also closed. Schools are also closed for the day.
Hospitals are on emergency backup power as crews try to restore electricity to nearly 3 million buildings on the island. Several hospitals are turning away emergency patients because of the outages.
The Tomari nuclear power plant lost its external power source, but workers there are using emergency generators, and no irregularities have been reported.