36 Injured in Japan Quake; Roof Caves In on Swimmers
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern coast of Japan today, collapsing a pool’s roof onto swimmers in the coastal city of Sendai and shaking buildings in Tokyo, 185 miles to the south, officials and news media said.
At least 36 people were reported injured. Nineteen were hurt at the pool, but none critically, broadcasters said. Others in the quake zone were hurt by falling rocks and tumbling roof tiles.
A tsunami warning was issued, but the two waves that hit were only 4 inches high.
Broadcasts showed a collapsed house outside Tokyo and landslides in the quake zone. Power was out for about 17,000 households.
Bullet train service was suspended in northern Japan, and flights were temporarily halted at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, Kyodo news agency said.
The quake was centered nearly 13 miles beneath the ocean off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, of which Sendai is the capital, broadcaster NHK said, citing the nation’s Meteorological Agency.
Four smaller aftershocks were reported.
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