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Japan earthquake forces evacuation of 40,000

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At least nine killed and nearly 1,000 injured after 6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes 11km east of Kumamoto city.

Japanese media showed residents, some of them wrapped in blankets, huddling in a parking lot [Kyodo News]

Japanese media showed residents, some of them wrapped in blankets, huddling in a parking lot [Kyodo News]

by Al Jazeera

At least nine people have been killed and nearly 1,000 injured after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake knocked down houses and destroyed roads in the southwestern Japan.

The tremor struck 11km east of Kumamoto on Thursday, according to the US Geological Survey, and strong aftershocks continued to shake the area around the city on Friday.

More than 40,000 people were evacuated to schools and community centres, some spending the night outside after the first quake hit around 9:30pm local time.

Roads cracked, houses crumbled and tiles fell from the roof of Kumamoto Castle in the centre of the city.

More than 3,000 troops, police and firefighters were dispatched to the area from around Japan, and Shinzo Abe, prime minister, said more would be sent if needed.

One of the victims in Mashiki died after being pulled from the rubble, and the other was killed in a fire.

Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed firefighters tackling a blaze in a building in Mashiki, a town of about 34,000 people near the epicentre of the quake.

About 16,500 households in and around Mashiki were without electricity, according to Kyushu Electric Power Company.

There were no irregularities at three nuclear plants on the southern major island of Kyushu and nearby Shikoku, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said.

The plant is 130km south of Kumamoto. The operator restarted the reactors last year, the first two units under updated regulations.

In March 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake led to a devastating tsunami that killed 18,000 people along Japan’s northeast coast.

The wave struck the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing a major radiation leakage.  

More than 100,000 displaced people are still unable to return to their homes near the nuclear plant because of the contamination.

 

Taiwan quake: Survivors pulled alive as time runs out

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More than 100 people are still thought to be trapped inside collapsed building after Saturday’s quake in Tainan.

More than 100 people were missing after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan, authorities said [EPA]

More than 100 people were missing after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan, authorities said [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

An eight-year-old girl has been pulled alive from the wreckage of a collapsed building in Tainan, the fourth to be rescued on Monday, more than 60 hours after a powerful quake struck southern Taiwan.

Rescuers also saved the girl’s aunt as they raced against time to find more than 100 residents buried deep in the ruins of the toppled Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building.

Earlier on Monday, two more people – a man and a woman – were pulled from the rubble, as the official death toll rose to 38..

Local legislator Wang Ting-yu told reporters that the rescued woman, Tsao Wei-ling, was found shielded under the body of her dead husband. Their two-year-old son, who was also killed, was found lying nearby.

Rescuers also confirmed that the other survivor – a man called Li Tsung-tian – had been pulled out of the rubble.

Rescue efforts are focused on the wreckage of the 17-storey building, where 117 people are listed as missing.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from outside the collapsed building, said the rescue effort had reached a critical point.

“It has been three days, and it’s understood that those stuck under the rubble and still alive won’t be able to last longer without food and water.

“Lots of questions are being asked about how this building was constructed. There are a lot of stories floating around about the builder. You could almost say he is the most wanted man in Taiwan right now. Everyone is trying to find him,” he said.

William Lai, the Tainan mayor, said Tsao and Li were the only signs of life at present, although rescuers were continuing to look for others.

“We have not given up on even the tiniest of possibilities,” he told reporters.

Rescuers continued to scramble over the twisted wreckage of the building as numbed family members stood around, waiting for news of missing relatives.

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who won the election last month, said there needed to be a “general sorting out” for old buildings to make sure they were able to cope with disasters such as earthquakes.

“There needs to be a continued strengthening of their ability to deal with disasters,” she said during a visit in Tainan.

Outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou is also scheduled to visit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed condolences to the victims, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Sunday, and repeated Beijing’s offer to provide help.

Five die as quake hits north-east, West Bengal

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manipur-earthquake

Imphal: An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale jolted north-eastern states and West Bengal early on Monday, killing five people in Manipur and injuring more than 60 across the region.

Those killed included four women, Manipur’s Inspector General of Police Clay Khongsai told IANS. Rescuers worked furiously to rescue those trapped under mounds of debris.

Khongsai said several multi-storey buildings in Imphal collapsed while many vehicles were damaged. The death toll is expected to rise, an officer said in Imphal.

The quake had its epicentre in Manipur’s Tamenglong district and occurred at 4.35 a.m., snapping power supply across the state.

It also shook Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal, an official of the seismological centre in Meghalaya said. It was also felt in adjoining Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Imphal later felt an aftershock measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale.

Khongsai said the Emma market – the day market for women in Manipur – was badly damaged and cordoned off. “We are not allowing anyone to enter the market to prevent any loss of life.

“So far five deaths and 33 injuries have been reported from Imphal. Damages to a few buildings, residential units and government offices have been reported, including damage to a six-storey building,” a home ministry statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on phone. Ibobi Singh convened a cabinet meeting to review the situation.

Modi also asked Home Minister Rajnath Singh to oversee the situation.

In Guwahati, Rajnath Singh said all central assistance would be extended to the north-eastern states.

“The prime minister has asked me to coordinate with all the chief ministers in the region. I have spoken to almost all of them though I could not contact the Manipur chief minister.

“Manipur’s chief secretary told me the damage is more in the state. The centre will extend all required assistance to the north-eastern states to deal with the crisis.

“I have also spoken to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoiji,” said Rajnath Singh, on a two-day visit to Assam since Sunday.

A Guwahati report said at least 20 people suffered minor injuries as some buildings across Assam developed cracks due to the temblor.

Chief Executive Officer of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) P.K. Tiwary said: “There are reports pouring in from different parts of the state about minor damage to buildings and houses. We are trying to verify the reports.”

He said there was no major damage or any causality in Assam.

The earthquake jolted the northern parts of West Bengal, particularly the districts of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, leaving at least a dozen people injured.

In Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, at least two people were killed and 100 others injured. Many people rushed out of their homes in panic.

The home ministry said the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was coordinating with north-eastern states for rescue and relief.

“The NDMA has begun coordinating with the state governments, ministries of home affairs, defence, telecom, National Disaster Response Force, and government departments and agencies,” a statement said.

India’s north-east region is considered the sixth major earthquake-prone belt in the world. In September 2011, Sikkim suffered heavy damage following a quake.

(IANS)

Mild tremors hit north India

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earthquake

New Delhi: An earthquake of 5.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale in Afghanistan sent tremors across North India on Saturday. Initial reports suggest epicentre of earthquake in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region.

Tremors were felt in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Noida.

No damage to property or death has been reported so far.

(Agencies)

Tremor jolts Kashmir, causes fear and panic

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Kashmir

Jammu/Srinagar: An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale jolted Kashmir on Saturday causing widespread fear and panic.

“An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale occurred at 12.44 a.m. The epicentre of the tremor was in the Hindukush region of Afghanistan,” an official of the Met department said here.

“Its coordinates were latitude 36.5 degrees north and longitude 71.2 degrees east. The depth of the quake was 186 Kilometres,” the official added.

People were jolted out of sleep after tremors were felt in Srinagar. In Jammu, residents were in the grip of fear due to the earthquake.

“I Thought some massive explosion had occurred outside our house,” a Jammu resident said.

No loss of life has been reported from anywhere in the state so far.

“It is too early to say as the earthquake occurred after midnight. We are gathering information to be absolutely certain,” said a senior officer of the state government.

More than 45,000 people were killed across divided Kashmir and properties worth billions destroyed in a 7.6 magnitude temblor that hit Jammu and Kashmir on October 8, 2005.

(IANS)

Tajikistan earthquake rocks Central Asia

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Magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits Tajikistan, sending mild tremors across northern Pakistan and India.

Earthquake Tajikistan

by Al Jazeera

An earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitude struck in Tajikistan, shaking buildings as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi and in Pakistan, the US Geological Survey and witnesses said.

The epicentre of the quake was 111km southwest of Karakul, a sparsely populated mountainous area, at a depth of 28 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.

A spokesman for Tajikistan’s Emergencies Committee said it had no information so far on any casualties or damage from the quake.

The quake did not affect Russian military bases in Tajikistan, RIA news agency reported, citing Russia’s defence ministry.

A Dushanbe resident told Reuters news agency by telephone the quake had been felt in the capital, but described it as moderate.

Earthquake recorded in northwest Pakistan near Afghan border

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earthquake-afghanistan

by Digby Lidstone, Reuters

Chitral: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 was recorded on Sunday in northwest Pakistan, according to the United States Geological Survey.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the quake, which struck 83 km (50 miles) north-northwest of the city of Chitral, in a sparsely populated area close to the border with Afghanistan.

7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Pakistan, at least 52 dead

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pakistan-earthquake

by Dawn

Islamabad: A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck major cities of Pakistan, including the northern areas, on Monday, leaving at least 52 dead and scores injured due to roof and building collapses.

The earthquake struck the country at 2:09pm today (Monday).

Forty minutes after the first earthquake, an aftershock of 4.8 magnitude was reported in the same area. Aftershocks are expected to continue in the affected areas.

The magnitude of today’s earthquake is close to the previous earthquake of 2005, but the destruction was more widespread then due to the shallow epicentre of the earthquake.

The earthquake in 2005 was at a depth of 26 km, while today’s earthquake was at a depth of 212.5 km, according to analyst Faheem Zaman.

Authorities in Peshawar have provided the following numbers for the victims:

091921302 and 091921138

52 dead across Pakistan

Atleast 18 people were killed in Peshawar city, according to PTI leader Mushtaq Ghani.

Eight people, including women and children, were killed in Swat, while four people were killed in the Bajaur tribal region after buildings collapsed in the area.

An eight-year-old child was killed in Kallar Kahar, whereas one casualty was also reported from Kasur after the roof of a house collapsed.

A 14-year-old child died in the Islamgarh area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Mirpur region after a school wall collapsed.

A wall collapsed in Sargodha, killing one woman and injuring 10 people, while three are injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

13 people were killed in Chitral, which is closest to the epicentre of the earthquake. A child has reportedly died a the roof of a house collapsed in Raja Bazaar area of Rawalpindi.

One child was killed after the wall of a school collapsed in Miani Adda area of Punjab’s Chakwal district. Three people will reported killed in Gilgit-Baltistan.

-Photo courtesy Hussain Nagri

-Photo courtesy Hussain Nagri

Several landslides have been reported in mountainous areas of the country, leading to fears that the death toll may increase.

Scores injured

At least 194 injured were brought to Swat’s Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital, which does not have adequate medical facilities.

More than 100 wounded have been admitted to Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital.

Tremors have been felt in major cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta, Kohat and Malakand.

Paramedics treat a man injured in an earthquake at a hospital in Peshawar on October 26, 2015. -AFP

Rescue 1122 has been put on high alert in Punjab. The disaster response force is on standby and a code red has been imposed, Director General Rescue Punjab Retd Brig Dr Ashraf Zia said. Rescue 1122 Spokesman Jam Sajjad said there were no reports of any deaths in Lahore.

A patient is brought to a hospital after severe earthquake was felt in Mingora, the main town of Pakistan’s Swat valley. -AP

Communication services have been disrupted in Islamabad, where walls swayed back and forth and people poured out of office buildings in a panic, reciting verses from the Holy Quran.

A building has also reportedly collapsed in Peshawar. Several mud huts collapsed in Balochistan’s Zhob district.

Citizens took to social media to post reports of the massive quake that lasted for up to one minute.

Tremors were also felt in Kabul and New Delhi.

The full extent of the damage and the number of possible casualties is not yet known.

7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially measured the quake’s intensity at 7.7 then revised it down to 7.6 and later to 7.5.

Vineet Gahlot, the director of seismology at the Indian Meteorological Department, said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7 and an epicentre deep in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. Pakistan state TV reported the same magnitude.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department, however, said the magnitude of the earthquake was 8.1.

The quake was 196km deep and centred 82km southeast of Feyzabad in a remote area of Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush mountain range.

According to USGS, the epicentre is 67km from Chitral.

Rescue operation

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed all federal, civil, military and provincial agencies to declare an immediate alert and mobilise all resources to ensure the security of citizens of Pakistan. All agencies have been directed to move out with their resources.

The prime minister has contacted Governor KP and has directed him to mobilise tribal administration immediately for relief, rescue and damage assessment in the affected regions.

On the directions of the PM a crisis cell has also been formed to coordinate with all federal, civil, military and provincial agencies for damage assessment and rescue and relief efforts. The cell will work round the clock.

The premier has also directed Governor Gilgit Baltistan to immediately reach Gilgit and take charge of rescue and relief efforts in the region.

Joint Secretary Prime Minister Office Kazim Niaz will head crisis management cell at Prime Minister Office. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), respective Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Inter-Servies Publis Relations (ISPR) and Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) will be part of the crisis management cell.

President Mamnoon Hussain has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the natural calamity.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif has directed army personnel to reach out where required to help affected people without waiting for orders.

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif is on his way to Peshawar, to personally supervise rescue and relief efforts.

Pakistan and the region, along an active continental plate boundary, is often hit by earthquakes. In September 2013, a magnitude-7.7 quake struck Pakistan’s Balochistan province, killing around 800 people. In 2005, the country was hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless.

Afghanistan and India

Afghanistan’s CEO Abdullah Abdullah said reports of damage and injuries were coming in from Afghanistan’s northeast.

According initial reports, 15 people have been killed in Afghanistan.

“Disasters authorities to meet within the hour and respond to the needs,“ he tweeted.

Traffic came to a stop in downtown Kabul, with people getting out of their cars as they waited for the quake to pass.

Afghan media reported the deaths of 21 people and 40 wounded.

As buildings shook throughout north India, hundreds of people poured onto the streets from office blocks, hospitals and homes, AFP reporters and TV footage showed.

Delhi’s metro ground to a halt during the tremor although the airport continued operating.

“All of around 190 trains plying on the tracks were stopped at the time of the earthquake. The lines and the trains are now being restored after basic inspection of respective lines,” Anuj Dayal, Delhi Metro spokesman told AFP.

Cell phone networks were down in the Kashmir region.

An Abbottabad resident, Shoaib, told Dawn.com the earthquake triggered landslides in the area.

In pictures shared by Islamabad residents on Twitter, people are seen standing on roads after feeling tremors.

Slight earthquake in Rajasthan, no damage reported

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earthquake

Jaipur/New Delhi: A ‘slight’ intensity earthquake shook Rajasthan late on Thursday night, the met department said. There were no reports of any casualty or property damage.

According to the India Meteorological Department, a temblor measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale and classed as of “slight intensity” was recorded ar 11.27 p.m. with its epicentre at a point 27.6 degrees north latitude and 75.6 East longitude in the state’s Sikar district.

Mild tremors were felt in some parts of Rajasthan including state capital Jaipur, leading to people, especially residents of high-rise buildings, rushing out in panic.

“It happened around 11.27 or so….I was sleeping and suddenly my bed started to shake… till the time I woke up and was able to understand that it was a quake, the shaking stopped,” said Jitendra Singh, who lives on the third floor in a high-rise building in Jaipur’s Tilak Nagar.

“I was working on my desktop computer….suddenly for few seconds my chair started to shake. I just got up and came out of my house,” said Ashok Kumar, a resident of the old city.

Shocks were also felt in Sikar, Ajmer and Jhunjhunu among other cities and towns.

“I did feel thing around me shaking, but only for few seconds,” said Durgesh, a resident of Chomu near Jaipur.

There are no reports of any loss of life or property in the state so far.

(IANS)

Tremors felt in Kashmir valley, Delhi, parts of north India

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earthquake

New Delhi: Earthquake shook buildings in New Delhi on Monday afternoon.

People were seen coming out of buildings in Delhi.

Tremors were also felt in Kashmir valley and other parts of north India.

Panic-stricken people ran out of homes and offices as buildings swayed in Kashmir.

The epicenter of the magnitude 6 quake was 88 kilometers (54.68 miles) from Feyzabad in Afghanistan, at a depth of 209 kilometers (129.87 miles), the US Geological Survey said.

The tremor was also felt in various parts of Pakistan including Islamabad, Faisalabad, Mianwali, Peshawar and Sargodah.

So far, there was no report of any loss to life or property.

(Agencies)

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