A strong earthquake has left at least one dead and 21 injured in Japan. The quake in the Ishikawa region in the center of the country occurred on Friday at 14:42 (local time, 07:42 CEST) at a depth of ten kilometers, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency. It triggered landslides, but there was no risk of tsunami.
At least one person was still missing on Friday. The Japanese Meteorological Agency reported the magnitude of the quake at 6.3 and then at 6.5. The U.S. Seismological Observatory (USGS) gave it 6.2 and located the epicenter off the coast, unlike the Japanese authority.
"There was a strong and long shake that lasted about two minutes," a local official told public broadcaster NHK. The spokesman for the Japanese government, Hirokazu Matsuno, spoke of one fatality. In addition, several buildings had collapsed. No abnormalities were found at the nuclear power plants in the earthquake region.
Koichi Tani, the minister responsible for civil protection, said that several landslides had occurred as a result of the quake. Residents of the affected areas had sought refuge in evacuation centers.
A representative of the disaster management authority of the coastal city of Suzu said the death occurred there. A person had fallen from a ladder because of the quake. 21 other people suffered injuries. One person was missing in the rubble of a building.
The earthquake occurred on a Japanese holiday, which many people use for family visits. Between the cities of Nagano and Kanazawa, Shinkansen bullet trains were temporarily suspended due to the quake.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in and around Japan. The country is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide. In Japan, therefore, strict building regulations apply, and there are regular earthquake exercises.
In 2011, the tsunami and reactor disaster in Fukushima shook Japan and the entire world. About 18,500 people died in the tsunami or are still missing.