Strong Quake Jolts Northwestern Japan

TOKYO-A strong earthquake jolted northwestern Japan on Monday morning, flattening dozens of wooden houses,and triggering small tsunamis. Media reports said at least 160 people were injured.National broadcaster NHK showed footage of the collapsed homes along with damaged bridges and roads. Sirens from fire engines could be heard in hard-hit Kashiwazaki city where the homes collapsed.Flames and black smoke were seen pouring from the Kashiwazaki nuclear plant, which was automatically shut down in the quake. NHK reported the fire was in an electrical transformer, and that no radioactivity had been released. The reactor and two others in the region had shut down automatically."I was so scared - the violent shaking went on for 20 seconds," Ritei Wakatsuki, an employee of convenience store Lawson, told The Associated Press by telephone from Kashiwazaki. "I almost fainted by the fear of shaking."Kyodo News agency reported more than 160 people were hurt.No deaths were immediately reported, though one victim was reported to be unconscious and two others were feared buried under a collapsed apartment house, national broadcaster NHK reported.The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude of the quake was 6.7. It was centered off the coast of Niigata, 160 miles northwest of Tokyo, where buildings swayed during the tremor.A series of aftershocks also rattled the area, the largest one with a reported 4.2 magnitude.The force of the quake buckled seaside roads and bridges, and one-yard-wide fissures could been seen in the ground along the Niigata coastline.
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