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Strong Earthquake in Japan's Nagano Injures Dozens, Topples Homes

Categories: East Asia, Japan, Breaking News, Citizen Media, Disaster, Environment
nagano earthquake

Screenshot of M6.8 Nagano earthquake courtesy ANN News.

An earthquake struck central Japan [1] on Saturday, November 22, injuring 41 people and collapsing dozens of farmhouses, destroying roads, and toppling tombstones in the village of Hakuba in Nagano prefecture.

The magnitude 6.8 [2] earthquake trapped 21 people under collapsed houses, but all were freed and no deaths were reported.

Horinouchi Ward in Hakuba Village. The first floor has totally collapsed.

Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture lies about 200 kilometers northwest of Tokyo, and was the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics [8].

Following the quake, it was discovered that Hakuba sits atop an active fault line. The shifting ground caused considerable damage to roads and other infrastructure around the village, as well as to cemeteries.

Olympic Avenue has been damaged, so sad. #地震 [9] (earthquake) #白馬 [10] (Hakuba)

The earthquake also caused power outages that affected rapid express trains on routes in different parts of central Japan. Many Twitter users posted about being stuck on shut-down trains.

I wonder if the earthquake is responsible for this? The conductor has announced that a power outage has shut down Shinkansen bullet train service has shut down between Yokohama and Gifu in central Japan.

Twitter users near the earthquake in Nagano posted photos of the aftermath of the temblor:

Oh no! The earthquake has made a huge mess in the liquor aisle!

The aftermath of the earthquake at the Don Quixote discount store in Nagano City.

A total of 53 aftershocks [19] had been recorded by midday Sunday, the Meteorological Agency’s earthquake and tsunami division said.