Earthquake in NW Japan: Six Dead, Hundreds Injured

The earthquake, which occurred at 10:13 a.m. on what was a national holiday here, caused minor tsunamis and buckled roads and bridges. It toppled one local train and shut down service on the bullet train for several hours, as well as interrupted the supply of power and water to tens of thousands of homes.

Nuclear reactors shut down automatically, but the quake caused a small fire at an electrical transformer at a nuclear plant in Kashiwazaki, a coastal town nearest to the quake’s epicenter. Japanese television stations showed flames and black smoke billowing from the plant, which officials said suffered no serious damage from the fire.

More than 7,000 people had left their homes for evacuation centers, according to NHK, the public broadcaster.

After-shocks could be felt for several hours following the quake, including a large one at 3:37 p.m. that was felt here in Tokyo.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe interrupted a campaign appearance in Nagasaki, in western Japan, to fly by helicopter to Niigata.

“I have given instruction that all possible measures be taken to rescue human life and to ensure public safety,” said Mr. Abe, whose approval rating has continued to slide two weeks before an election in the upper house of parliament.

Troops from the Self-Defense Force were deployed to the affected area. In Kashiwazaki, troops succeeded in freeing an elderly woman who had been trapped in the rubble of her home for more than five hours.

The authorities identified the six fatalities as mostly men and women in their 70’s and 80’s. Like other rural areas in Japan, Niigata has a disproportionately high number of elderly residents, often living alone in wooden houses.

In early 2006, record snowfalls in Niigata trapped many elderly indoors or forced able-bodied septuagenarians and octogenarians onto their roofs to shovel snow. Many died.

In October 2004, more than 60 people died and thousands were injured in a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Niigata. At the time, the government was criticized for not providing adequate services for evacuees, many of whom had to stay in public facilities for months.

Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant -- the world's largest -- leaked water containing radioactive materials from a reactor after a strong quake struck northwest Japan on Monday, a company spokesman said.