The Associated Press
TOKYO - A
strong earthquake jolted southwestern Japan early Tuesday, injuring
five people and temporarily closing a local expressway.
The quake,
which hit at 1:43 a.m., had a magnitude of 5.5 and was centered
about 25 miles underground in southern Mie prefecture, the Meteorological
Agency said. The agency initially gave the magnitude at 5.7, but
lowered it after further assessment.
Katsuhiko
Kawaguchi, a spokesman for the Mie prefectural police, said a
man cut his forehead after jumping out of his home in panic. Another
man suffered a head injury after a piece of furniture fell on
him, and a third man received a cut on the head from a falling
appliance, Kawaguchi said. A woman was taken to a hospital suffering
from shock, he said.
In Aichi prefecture,
a woman suffered a broken nose while trying to run outside, said
Kenzo Hanaya, a local police spokesman.
Also in Aichi,
police temporarily halted traffic on the Tomeihan expressway,
a major highway, and reduced speed limits on other major roads
as officials checked for damage.
Also Tuesday,
a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 shook a string of
volcanic islands south of Tokyo at 4:20 a.m., but there were no
immediate reports of damage or injuries. The earthquake, centered
about six miles under the seabed near the islands of Niijima and
Kozushima, was unrelated to the earlier quake, the agency said.
Niijima, home
to about 600 people is located about 105 miles south of Tokyo.
Nearby Kozushima has a population of around 2,300.
Earthquakes
have persistently hit the small island chain since a mountain
on the island of Miyakejima began volcanic activity in June. Miyakejima's
3,855 residents have been evacuated.
|
