Collapsing buildings, snapping power lines and severing water mains included some of the destruction caused by the earthquake. More than 5,000 damaged buildings littered the streets by the quake, which also shook windows as far away as South Korea, more than 150 miles northwest of the epicenter. The epicenter was off the coast of Hiroshima and relatively deep under the sea, which may have softened its impact. There is no danger of tsunami, or huge waves caused by undersea disturbances such as earthquakes and volcanic activity. The quake s toll stood at two dead and 174 injured.
Japan is one of the world s most earthquake-prone countries.
It straddles three tectonic plates, the huge slabs of land that cover the surface of the Earth. Some 6,000 people died when an earthquake devastated the western Japan port city of Kobe in 1995. All rights reserved.