May 25, 2013
A powerful earthquake shook the eastern part of Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Saturday night. Ceilings collapsed in train stations and schools. The quake injured twelve people in Hokkaido. The Meteorological Agency is calling on people to stay on the alert for possible landslides and avalanches from aftershocks.
The earthquake occurred at 11:17 PM Saturday, Japan time, in the Tokachi region. The agency says the quake was magnitude 6.5 and focused in central Tokachi at a depth of 108 kilometers. It registered 5-plus on the Japanese scale of 7. The agency says there was no danger of a tsunami.
Twenty-one buildings were reported to be damaged in Hokkaido. The gas supply was stopped automatically in Kushiro city. Kushiro Gas Co., Ltd received 800 calls from customers asking how to restart the gas.
