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Article: Powerful earthquake slams Hokkaido, Japan; 323 injured.(Main News)
- Article from:
- Manila Bulletin
- Article date:
- September 26, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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KUSHIRO, Japan (AP) - Japan's northern island of Hokkaido was slammed by a powerful earthquake early Friday that injured at least 323 people, cut off electricity and water to thousands more, and set an oil storage tank ablaze in a spectacular fire.
The magnitude-8 quake - the strongest anywhere in the world this year - forced the evacuation of some 41,000 people and left some 16,000 homes blacked out.
Almost miraculously, there were no reports of deaths directly caused by the quake, which struck at 4:50 a.m., cracking roads, capsizing fishing boats and causing the roof of the airport in this city of 200,000 to partially cave in.
"We get a lot ...