A collapsed wall by a strong earthquake is pictured in Kunimi, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan on Feb 14, 2021. (Photo: Kyodo/via REUTERS)
The 7.3 magnitude quake struck shortly before midnight on Saturday and cracked walls, shattered windows and set off a landslide in Fukushima, the area closest to the epicentre. More than 100 people were injured.Hoshino, 46, swept broken glass from about 20 shattered whiskey bottles into a bin bag in her bar on a back street in the city of Iwaki, roughly 200km north of Tokyo and not far from the quake's epicentre."We were hit by this coronavirus pandemic, and so we were looking forward to reopening our shops, and now this happens," she said, referring to a locally-declared state of emergency that had closed her bar from January and was set to lift on Monday.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake was believed to be an aftershock from the magnitude 9.0 quake on Mar 11, 2011 that set off a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000 people along a wide swathe of northeastern Japan, and the Fukushima nuclear accident, the world's worst in 25 years. The agency warned of aftershocks for several days.
Hoshino said Saturday's quake brought back frightening memories.
"My body immediately reacted, and I couldn’t stop trembling. My legs were shaking too, but I couldn’t gauge whether it was safer to run out or stay in, so I ended up doing a weird little dance," she said with a chuckle.
At least 121 people were injured, NHK national television said, including several who suffered fractures, but there were no reported deaths.
There was no tsunami, and no reports of irregularities at any nuclear plants. NHK reported that about 160mls (5 ounces) of water had leaked from a spent fuel pool at the Fukushima Dai-Ni reactor but that this presented no danger.
Shinkansen bullet train service to much of northern Japan was suspended due to damage along the tracks. Service along one line was not expected to be restored until at least Tuesday.Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas, and Japan accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater//CNA