TOKYO, Oct 23 (AFP) - A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale and a series of aftershocks hit Japan`s capital Tokyo and its surrounding areas Saturday, killing at least four people, officials and press reports said.
More than 300 people were injured and several houses destroyed, while a high-speed bullet train was derailed near the epicenter, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Tokyo, according to hospital officials and press reports.
Four people were unaccounted for near the epicenter of the quakes, in the Niigata prefecture, as several houses were hit by landslides, a local police spokesman said.
Transport officials were on their way to two tunnels reported to have collapsed on the highway linking Tokyo and the city of Niigata, a major port by the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
The first quake struck at 5:56 pm (0856 GMT), rocking buildings in Tokyo for several minutes.
A series of aftershocks followed, including four tremors within two hours recording 6.3, 6.2, 5.9 and 5.9 on the Richter scale.
"We expect aftershocks to continue actively," Meteorological Agency official Masahiro Yamamoto said.
The focus of the first quake was located some 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) underground, a relatively shallow depth given the large amount of damage, officials said.
"I felt a strong vertical jolt first and then tremors continued for a while," said Kyoichi Sato, an official at the anti-disaster office in Nagaoka, another major city in Niigata prefecture.
"Things fell from the shelves and people appeared surprised, but there was no panic in the city."
Dozens of people were treated for injuries at the main hospital in Nagaoka where some 2,400 residents were evacuated to shelters after power and water supplies were cut off.
In nearby Ojiya, a 55-year-old man died after concrete blocks fell on him following the earthquake and broke his neck, said Sadao Maruyama, an official at Uonuma Hospital in Ojiya.
"Some 30 others were also injured, but their conditions were not so serious," he told AFP by telephone.
In Tokamachi also near Ojiya, a 34-year-old man was killed when a restaurant wall cascaded down on him, an official at Tokamachi Hospital said.
"Five people were seriously injured while some 40 others suffered minor injuries. The hospital is full of people -- the injured and their families. It`s a little chaotic," he said.
A 90-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman died at hospitals in Nagaoka and Ojiya and the deaths were attributed by the Japan Broadcasting Corp. to quake-related shock.
The train incident did not result in any injury among some 150 passengers on board, rail operator JR East Japan said.
"The train is not overturned but it is tilting," a JR official said, adding that the first and last cars of the 10-coach train derailed.
Jiji press said a few cars were buried in a landslide in Ojiya where roads caved in at some places and several houses collapsed.
A power blackout hit some 250,000 houses in Niigata prefecture, Tohoku Electric Power Co. said.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Saturday ordered his cabinet members to make their "utmost efforts to rescue victims and collect information related to the earthquake", according to one news report.
The defence agency set up an emergency anti-disaster office and dispatched 11 military aircraft to monitor damage to the region, an agency official said.
The quake hit as Japan was still reeling from the onslaught on Wednesday of Typhoon Tokage, which became a record 10th typhoon to ravage the country this year and killed some 79 people and left another 12 missing.
The nine previous typhoons to hit Japan caused 102 deaths and left 13 people missing and presumed dead.
10/23/2004 13:52 GMT - AFP