Powerful Quake Shakes Western Japan

A powerful earthquake in western Japan knocked off loose roof tiles, toppled store shelves, and caused power outages Friday afternoon, but it apparently caused no deaths or widespread damage. At least seven people were injured, one seriously, the AP reports. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the 6.6-magnitude quake occurred in Tottori, a prefecture on the Sea of Japan about 430 miles west of Tokyo. The epicenter was at a relatively shallow depth of 7 miles. Shallow quakes potentially cause more damage, but Friday's damage appeared to be mostly minor or localized.

At least two houses collapsed, and television footage showed roof tiles knocked loose, wall fragments from a sake brewery fallen to the ground, and wine bottles and food items scattered on a store floor. Japan's public broadcaster NHK said a woman cooking in a restaurant was taken to a hospital after she was splashed with oil. "It shook quite violently and file cabinets fell down, but luckily nobody was injured in this office," a town hall official in coastal Hokuei told NHK. A regional utility says around 32,000 customers lost power. (More Japan stories.)