July 17, 2007	Tuesday	Rajab 01, 1428

KASHIWAZAKI (Japan), July 16: Nearly 8,000 people spent an anxious night in evacuation centres in north-western Japan after a strong earthquake flattened hundreds of houses and killed at least seven people.

Forecasts for two days of rain in the area raised fears of further mudslides that would add to the devastation.

Houses collapsed and water, gas and electricity supplies were cut by the 6.8 magnitude quake in Niigata prefecture, which also caused a small radiation leak and fire at the world’s biggest nuclear plant.

Seven elderly people were killed, a police spokesman said, and a 77-year-old man was reported missing after going for a walk before the tremor hit at 10:13 a.m. (0113 GMT) on Monday.

The quake injured more than 800.

The quake halted gas service to about 35,000 homes and disrupted the water supply to all of Kashiwazaki, a city with a population of around 95,000 that was hardest hit by the quake.

About 25,000 homes in Niigata prefecture were without electricity, local officials and media said.

Aftershocks from the mid-morning quake continued into the night. The country was rattled late in the evening by a deep tremor under the Sea of Japan estimated at magnitude 6.6 to 6.8 that swayed buildings in Tokyo, but there were no immediate reports of further damage.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said 1.5 litres of water containing radioactive materials had leaked from a unit at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant -- the world’s largest.

The contaminated water had been released into the ocean and had had no effect on the environment, the company said in a statement, adding that the quake was stronger than its reactors had been designed to cope with.

A fire in an electrical transformer at the plant was quickly extinguished but it was unclear when TEPCO could restart three power units there.

Houses, many wooden with traditional heavy tile roofs, collapsed and roads cracked in Monday’s quake.

Rain fears: Troops and extra emergency teams helped with rescue and relief efforts, including distributing water and rice, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cut short campaigning for parliamentary elections to inspect damage.

“We need to take every step to take lives. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow (Tuesday) in the area so we have to take every step to save lives, secure lifelines and reassure people,” Abe told reporters.

The government set up an emergency office to deal with the quake, which officials said had damaged about 500 buildings.

Bullet trains stopped services in northern Japan for a time after the quake and a local train toppled from the rails, but media said no one was injured.—Reuters