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Collapsed houses in Hakuba village yesterday. Photo: Kyodo

Dozens injured as earthquake destroys homes near Nagano, Japan

Helicopter surveys yesterday showed more extensive damage than previously thought from an earthquake in the mountainous area of central Japan that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics.

AP

Helicopter surveys yesterday showed more extensive damage than previously thought from an earthquake in the mountainous area of central Japan that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics.

At least 50 homes were destroyed in two villages, with 41 people hurt.

The magnitude-6.7 earthquake struck shortly after 10pm on Saturday west of Nagano city at a depth of 10km, the Japan Meteorological Agency said - revising the magnitude from a preliminary 6.8.

Ryo Nishino, a restaurant owner in Hakuba, a ski resort village west of Nagano, said he had "never experienced a quake that shook so hard". "The sideways shaking was enormous," he added.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were reported at three nuclear power plants in the affected areas. All of Japan's nuclear plants remain offline following a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami in 2011 that sent three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant into meltdown.

Fukushima is about 250km northeast of where Saturday's earthquake occurred.

The hardest-hit area appeared to be Hakuba, which hosted events in the 1998 games. At least 43 homes were destroyed and 17 people injured, the Nagano prefecture government said. Another seven homes were lost in Otari, a nearby village to the north.

Japanese television footage showed buildings in various states of collapse, some flattened and others leaning to one side, and deep cracks in the roads. A landslide spilled on to a railroad track, forcing services to stop.

About 200 people were evacuated to shelters, almost all from Hakuba and Otari.

Nagano prefecture disaster management official Shigeharu Fujimori said it was fortunate no deaths had been reported despite the extent of the damage.

All 21 people trapped under collapsed houses were rescued, with two of them injured, the National Police Agency said. Television showed police going house to house early yesterday, calling out to make sure inhabitants were accounted for.

"So I don't think anyone has been forgotten or left isolated."

Shinkansen bullet train services in the region were restored after a short interruption but 200 homes were still without power yesterday.

The quake was followed by more than 45 aftershocks.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Helicopters reveal true extent of quake damage
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