6.7 magnitude quake hits Hokkaido, causing blackouts of almost 3-million household, 1 death, massive injuries

All domestic and international flights today were cancelled in the New Chitose Airport. 

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A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck in Hokkaido, Japan, Several buildings collapsed; 2.95 million households had a blackout; at least one person was killed and more than 100 were injured. The authorities have sent helicopters for the local rescue. Fortunately, no tsunami was triggered. 

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The New Chitose Airport also reported injuries and damages. All domestic and international flights today were cancelled. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the government has set up a command center to coordinate disaster relief work.

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In Atsuma, near Tomakomai, a long ridge collapsed, where many houses on the hillside were crushed by mud and residents were trapped. An 80-odd-year-old man fell and his heart and lungs stopped working. About 10 people were injured, and the authorities have sent helicopters to the local rescue. 

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The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake occurred at 3:08 am local time. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter is located about 112 kilometers southeast of Sapporo and has a focal depth of 66 kilometers. Another report quoted the local police as saying that there was a large-scale blackout in the affected areas, and some people were trapped in the collapsed buildings.

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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A cluster of earthquakes struck the island republic of Taiwan early Tuesday, the strongest having a magnitude of 6.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There were no reports of casualties in the quakes, although there were further damages to two multi-story buildings that had been evacuated following a magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. That earthquake was centered along the coast of the rural and mountainous Hualien County.

It was the strongest earthquake in the past 25 years in Taiwan and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks. The quakes Tuesday's are considered the latest of those.

According to the USGS, Tuesday's quake of 6.1 magnitude had its epicenter 28 kilometers (17.5 miles) south of the city of Hualien, at a dept of 10.7 kilometers. The half-dozen other quakes ranged from magnitude 4.5 to magnitude 6, all near Hualien. Taiwan's own earthquake monitoring center put the magnitudes of the initial quake at 6.3. Such small discrepancies are common between monitoring stations.

The largest among them were two earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and 6.3 that occurred at 2:26 a.m. and 2:32 a.m. Tuesday, respectively, according to the Taiwan center. Numerous of the scores of aftershocks could be felt on the upper floors of a apartment buildings in the capital Taipei, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) across steep mountains to the northwest.

The Full Hotel in downtown Hualien partially collapsed during the quakes and was left leaning at a severe angle, However, it had been undergoing renovations and was unoccupied at the time. The nearby Tong Shuai Building was also empty, having been marked for demolition after being heavily damaged in the April 3 quake.

Schools and offices in Hualien and the surrounding county were ordered closed on Tuesday as hundreds of aftershocks continued to strike on land and just off the coast in the Pacific Ocean, the vast majority below magnitude 3. Authorities advised anyone whose home had been damaged in the last quake to move out until the aftershocks subsided, and some decided to wait in their cars.

Rock slides closed a section of road in the rugged Taroko Gorge, where several hikers lost their lives in the April 3 quake. Although train service from Taipei to Hualien was suspended, the disruption to traffic was minimal and the road, provincial highway 8, was expected to be cleared by Wednesday. Cracks opened on some walkways and bridges and some tiles fell from exterior walls, but damage was only slight.

Taiwan is no stranger to powerful earthquakes yet their toll on the high-tech island’s 23 million residents has been relatively contained thanks to its excellent earthquake preparedness, experts say. The island also has strict construction standards and widespread public education campaigns about earthquakes.

In 1999, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Taiwan killed 2,400 people.

Taiwan lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean from South America to Japan, Indonesia and New Zealand, along with most of the world’s earthquakes occur. Quakes, often with their epicenters in the Pacific, are a near-daily occurrence on the island, where they are often referred to as “the movement of the earth cattle.”

Taiwan's Cabinet has set aside more than $20 billion Taiwan Dollars ($614.9 million) for relief and reconstruction following the April 3 quake.

In this image from a video, roads in Hualien, Taiwan are cordoned off after a cluster of earthquakes struck the island early Tuesday, April 23, 2024. There were no reports of casualties in the quakes, although there were further damages to two multi-story buildings that had been evacuated following a magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. (TVBS via AP)

In this image from a video, roads in Hualien, Taiwan are cordoned off after a cluster of earthquakes struck the island early Tuesday, April 23, 2024. There were no reports of casualties in the quakes, although there were further damages to two multi-story buildings that had been evacuated following a magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. (TVBS via AP)

In this image from a video, roads in Hualien, Taiwan are cordoned off after a cluster of earthquakes struck the island early Tuesday, April 23, 2024. There were no reports of casualties in the quakes, although there were further damages to two multi-story buildings that had been evacuated following a magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. (TVBS via AP)

In this image from a video, roads in Hualien, Taiwan are cordoned off after a cluster of earthquakes struck the island early Tuesday, April 23, 2024. There were no reports of casualties in the quakes, although there were further damages to two multi-story buildings that had been evacuated following a magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. (TVBS via AP)

In this image from a video, roads in Hualien, Taiwan are cordoned off after a cluster of earthquakes struck the island early Tuesday, April 23, 2024. There were no reports of casualties in the quakes, although there were further damages to two multi-story buildings that had been evacuated following a magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. (TVBS via AP)