Global Courant 2023-05-06 11:50:00
TOKYO — Aftershocks shook Japan a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least one person, with officials on Saturday assessing damage from the quake that destroyed several buildings.
The magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the central Ishikawa region Friday afternoon at a depth of 12 km, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
More than 50 aftershocks, some powerful, had occurred Saturday morning, the agency said, as it warned heavy rains could trigger landslides in the area.
At least 29 people were injured, Japan’s disaster response agency said Saturday.
“Our staff are checking the damage from the earthquake,” an official from Suzu in Ishikawa prefecture, the worst-hit city, told AFP.
Two people trapped in destroyed buildings were rescued, he said, and about 50 people were transferred to evacuation centers set up near schools and city hall.
TV footage showed a grocery store littered with broken wine bottles and other products that had fallen off the shelves.
Some residents were seen clearing debris in the rain after their wooden houses were partially destroyed.
“I asked a carpenter for a makeshift repair of the house, and the house is now covered with a blue tarpaulin to protect it from rainwater,” a man told NHK public broadcaster.
