A powerful earthquake 10 miles below sea level jolted Japan's northwest coast Monday, killing two women and injuring an undetermined number of people.

The 6.8-magnitute quake, which struck after 10 a.m. local time, knocked down several small buildings, CNN reported. A spokesman at a hospital in Kashiwazaki in Niigata prefecture said the women who died were at least 80 years old.

Local media reports put the number of injured at more than 260.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency said the quake caused minor shaking in Tokyo, 150 miles south of the epicenter. A tsunami warning issued for Sado Island and the coast of Niigata prefecture was lifted an hour later, the report said.

Police in Kashiwazaki told Japan's NHK television that several buildings had collapsed and the injured were treated at local hospitals.

The quake comes on the heels of last week's typhoon, which killed three people.

Three reactors at a nuclear plant near the town automatically shut down when the quake hit, the report said.// Copyright 2007 by United Press International


Publication date: 16 July 2007   

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