A car is seen from the air Sunday fallen from a collapsed part of a road in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture.

About 65,000 people take refuge as hundreds of aftershocks hit.

Strong aftershocks continued to rattle Niigata Prefecture on Sunday after the most severe earthquake in nine years left at least 21 people confirmed dead and more than 1,500 injured.

Saturday's temblors left devastating scars: massive landslides that may have buried countless people, children crushed by collapsed houses, elderly people in shock and power blackouts to at least nearly 100,000 households. About 65,000 people remained in shelters Sunday to spend a second uneasy night.

Three big temblors registered upper 6 on the Japanese intensity scale of 7, or a magnitude of over 6 on the Richter scale. They hit in succession Saturday-at 5:56 p.m., 6:03 p.m. and 6:34 p.m. By Sunday night, more than 300 aftershocks had hit.

The last major earthquake in Japan occurred in 1995, leveling parts of Kobe and killing thousands.

Especially hard hit Saturday were the city of Ojiya along with Tokamachi, Nagaoka, Kawaguchi, Mitsuke, Yuzawa and Yamakoshi. Each community was in mourning for someone Sunday.

In Tokyo, the government set up an emergency headquarters Sunday and approved immediate disaster relief to 29 municipalities in Niigata Prefecture.

The devastation was so extensive that the Japan Meteorological Agency labeled the first jolt the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake.

A fact-finding team headed by disaster management minister Yoshitaka Murata visited stricken areas Sunday to assess damage.

Murata promised that emergency supplies of drinking water and food will reach Nagaoka when Mayor Tamio Mori asked for relief for 100,000 people.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sunday told reporters, ``An earthquake of upper 6 must have been unimaginably scary. So many people have been affected, we must provide proper relief measures for them.''

The earthquakes follow a destructive typhoon last week that killed nearly 80 people. Asked about a possible supplementary budget for the victims of Typhoon No. 23 and Saturday's quakes, Koizumi said, ``We will take whatever measures are necessary.''

The epicenter of the first jolt was estimated at 13 kilometers below the surface in the Chuetsu region of rural Niigata Prefecture. At 2:21 p.m. Sunday, an aftershock registering in upper 5 was recorded in Ojiya.

Japan Meteorological Agency officials predicted an at least 10 percent chance of an aftershock of 6 on the Japanese scale hitting the area within a week. It said there was a 40 percent chance of an aftershock of lower 5.

Residents were warned to be alert to possible landslides because the ground is sodden after last week's typhoon. To add to the misery, heavy rain was forecast today in Niigata Prefecture.

The quake caused the first derailment of a bullet train since the Tokaido Shinkansen started operations in 1964. Eight of the 10 cars of a Joetsu Shinkansen train originating in Tokyo and bound for Niigata derailed over a bridge between Urasa and Nagaoka stations. None of the cars toppled over and there were no injuries among the 155 passengers, according to East Japan Railway Co.

To supplement the partially suspended Joetsu Shinkansen services, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways put on additional flights between Haneda and Niigata airports Sunday. Special flights were also scheduled today.

Bullet train services resumed Sunday, but only between Tokyo and Echigo-Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture. JR East officials said it will take around two weeks for full Shinkansen services to resume between Tokyo and Niigata.

Tohoku Electric Power Co. said 98,000 households in 15 municipalities were still without power as of 8 p.m. Sunday.

Several communities were isolated because of landslides and deep cracks in road surfaces.(IHT/Asahi: October 25,2004) (10/25)