Typhoons, Earthquakes, Rain - Misery In Northern Japan

[hatrack]

OJIYA, Japan — "Some 100,000 weary survivors of Japan's deadliest earthquake in a decade bedded down for a third night in makeshift shelters or slept outside as a series of strong aftershocks raised fears of another big tremor. A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 shook rural Niigata prefecture, about 250 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, early on Monday, two days after the first big tremor that killed at least 25 people and injured more than 2,700.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said an increase in aftershocks meant there was a 40 percent chance of an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or greater in the area in the next week. Saturday's initial earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8. It was the deadliest in Japan since the Kobe earthquake killed more than 6,400 people in 1995.

The magnitude of the earthquakes was measured according to a technique similar to the Richter scale but adjusted for Japan's geological characteristics. Saturday's earthquake measured 6.5 on the Richter scale, said the U.S. Geological Survey.

Rain and falling temperatures prompted fears of more landslides and of a cold and bitter night for those homeless or too frightened to return to their houses."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=249