Quake aftershocks hit Japan

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Quake aftershocks hit Japan

By CHIKAKO MOGI, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO (AP) - More aftershocks hit southwestern Japan on Monday two days after a strong earthquake killed two people, injured nearly 200 and disrupted industry.

The Meteorological Agency advised officials to remain vigilant for strong aftershocks like the one of magnitude 5.2 that struck early Monday, one of 22 aftershocks recorded since Saturday.

People were still clearing rubble from falling roof tiles and broken fences after the magnitude-6.4 temblor hit Hiroshima and surrounding areas Saturday afternoon. Hiroshima is about 430 miles southwest of Tokyo.

A total of 7,122 buildings in southwestern Japan had sustained some damage, the Home Affairs Ministry in Tokyo said. Thirteen were completely destroyed. The ministry said it has received reports of 183 injuries, but no more reports of deaths since the two.

In and around Hiroshima, 114 people were still living away from their homes.

The economic impact to Hiroshima industries was estimated at about $2.8 million, said Hiroshima municipal official Maiko Kawagoe. Production facilities at major companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Oji Paper, however, were running normally Monday and train services, which were temporarily disrupted by aftershocks, had resumed, she said.

Hiroshima-based Mazda Motor Corp. (news - web sites) said production facilities weren't affected, though there were some broken windows. Assembly lines, however, were halted for about 90 minutes Monday morning when workers arrived late due to train delays.

But Idemitsu Kosan said it suspended operations at its oil refinery in Tokuyama, just west of Hiroshima, and couldn't say when they would start up again. The company reported no damage, but was checking the quake's impact. Supply to customers wasn't disrupted, however, because of adequate stockpiling, the company said.

Mitsubishi Electric said at its plant in Saijo, south of Hiroshima, that large-scale integrated circuit production has been suspended since Saturday and would resume in a few days. Another of its plants restarted operation on Sunday after a temporary suspension.

As for private residences, about 10,000 households on islands off Hiroshima remain without water, Kawagoe said.

In October last year, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck a largely rural area in Tottori state, northwest of Hiroshima. No one died, though at least 120 people were hurt. More than 6,000 people died when an earthquake devastated the western port city of Kobe in 1995.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone nations as it sits atop four tectonic plates, slabs of land that move across the earth's surface.

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-- Anonymous, March 26, 2001


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