Powerful earthquake hits Iwate Prefecture

A temblor with a magnitude of 7.2 hit southern Iwate Prefecture at around 8:43 a.m. Saturday, leaving at least five people confirmed dead, 14 missing and more than 150 others injured as of 9 p.m.

The earthquake was focused about 10 kilometers underground, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It registered an upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, and in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture. It was also felt in Tokyo, where it registered a 3 on the intensity scale.

Railway services were suspended and several roads were blocked by landslides.

In Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, a 60-year-old man was killed after being hit by a truck when he fled outside after being surprised by the temblor.

A 55-year-old man fishing off the coast of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture also died after being hit by falling rocks and slipping into the ocean. (IHT/Asahi: June 14,2008)