Casualty Toll in Japan Quake Rises to 400 Hurt

The number of casualties from a strong earthquake near Japan’s southernmost main island rose late Sunday to 400 injured and one dead.

In a region still jittery from the devastating Dec. 26 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami, authorities evacuated half the residents of a tiny island near the quake’s epicenter and warned of a tsunami, but later canceled the alert.

The magnitude 7 temblor, which hit west of Kyushu island at 10:53 a.m. Sunday, was centered at an unusually shallow depth of 5.5 miles below the ocean floor, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. At least one aftershock with a magnitude of 4.2 was recorded.

The worst damage was on the islet of Genkaijima, where the shaking touched off landslides and leveled homes.

About 120 Japanese troops flew in to offer food and medical aid and help evacuate more than 400 of the 850 residents to Kyushu.

Nearby in Fukuoka city, a 75-year-old woman died after a section of a stone wall fell on her, a Fukuoka prefectural government spokesman said.

At least 400 people were injured by the quake and treated at hospitals, public broadcaster NHK television reported. Most of the injured were in Fukuoka prefecture. Some were struck by toppling cabinets or shattered glass, and others were burned by stoves.