TOKYO: A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck Tokyo and surrounding areas late on Thursday, stopping train lines and causing sporadic power cuts, Reuters reported.
The tremor, at 10:41 p.m. (1341 GMT), registered “strong-5” on Japan’s intensity scale, a level that could cause some damage to buildings and power cuts, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The quake had an epicenter in Chiba prefecture, to the east of the capital Tokyo. There was no danger of a tsunami from the quake, according to NHK.
NHK said four people sustained injuries in Chiba and showed a two-story building in neighboring Saitama prefecture on fire. Private broadcaster TBS reported incidents of water pipes bursting in Tokyo. Tokyo Electric Power Corporation reported 250 cases of blackouts in the city.
Several train and subway lines in Tokyo and Chiba which initially halted their trains had since restarted their operations, NHK said.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20% of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami. (With inputs from Reuters)
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