Yet another natural disaster has struck part of Japan, continuing a summer of chaos that has seen the country weather deadly floods, typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and heatwaves.
At least seven people were killed when a magnitude-6.7 quake struck the northern island of Hokkaido early Thursday, causing landslides which buried a large number of homes at the foot of a ridge.
Photo taken Sept. 6, 2018, from a Kyodo News airplane shows the site of a landslide in Atsuma, Hokkaido, northern Japan, triggered by an earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 6.7 that struck the region.
More than 150 people were injured by the quake, mostly in Sapporo, said Kazuya Isaki, an official with the Crisis Management Office of Hokkaido Prefecture Government. Around 31 people are missing in Atsuma, near the epicenter of the quake.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that flights and public transport across the region had been brought to a standstill.
In this aerial image, houses are buried by multiple landslides after a powerful earthquake jolt on September 6, 2018 in Atsuma, Hokkaido, Japan.
Nearly 3 million households lost power, according to the Hokkaido Electric Power Company. Officials said a main power station lost operations, affecting other sites. Independently owned power generators were assisting.
"The electric supply was stopped to Tomari nuclear plant, but it can operate without external electric supply for one week," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
Risk of aftershocks
The powerful quake lasted almost a minute, jolting residents from their beds and collapsing roads.
Near the epicenter, landslides wiped out houses in the tiny town of Atsuma, home to 40 residents. Officials told NHK at least five people were buried in the rubble.
A rescue operation is conducted at a house destroyed by a landslide after a powerful earthquake on September 6, 2018 in Atsuma, Hokkaido, Japan.
Photos from Sapporo, Hokkaido's main city on the western part of the island, showed huge cracks in the street and subsided houses.
More than 4,000 defense force soldiers have been deployed to help with rescue operations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, and that number could rise to 25,000 if needed.
This picture shows an aerial view of houses damaged by a landslide in Atsuma town, Hokkaido prefecture on September 6, 2018, after an earthquake hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Helicopter rescue crews were also dispatched and have airlifted around a dozen people to safety. Evacuation shelters have been set up in many towns and cities around the region.
Aftershocks were continuing Thursday morning, and could pose a risk for the next week, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which warned residents of the increased risk that buildings could collapse near the epicenter of the original quake.
