Quake Causes Damage To Expressway
A landslide has occurred at a major expressway in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
An NHK camerawoman reported from a helicopter, "We are over Soma City. You are looking at the Joban Expressway. Embankments have collapsed and covered roads. We can see that guardrails are stuck under the mud."
Police in Miyagi Prefecture say the quake has lifted up about 10 meters of another section of the expressway.
The East Nippon Expressway company says many highways in the Tohoku region are partially closed.
Fire department officials in Miyagi Prefecture report at least 31 people were injured as of 2:30 am.
Meanwhile, authorities in Fukushima Prefecture say at least 17 people sustained minor injuries.
A resident said, "It's not all right. It's a mess. It's a shame that all the dishes in the kitchen are broken."
The Nuclear Regulation Authority says no major abnormalities have been reported at nuclear power plants on the Pacific coast so far.
About 850,000 households in the Tohoku and Kanto regions were without electricity at one time. But power supplies are gradually being restored.
Officials say some districts in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures are without water, owing to ruptured pipes.
A video taken after midnight in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, shows water gushing up from the middle of the road.
The earthquake registered an intensity of 5-plus on the Japanese scale of zero to 7 in the northeastern city of Sendai.
Footage taken by an NHK employee from the fourth floor of a hotel shows water gushing down from the ceiling near the building's window.
The employee says strong tremors continued for dozens of seconds.
Shelters have opened in parts of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures. Some people have already begun to evacuate.