North Japan quake kills at least 5, more missing

By Elaine Lies

KURIHARA, Japan (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake rocked rural northern Japan on Saturday, killing at least five people, injuring more than 200 and sparking landslides that sliced mountains, destroyed roads and left residents cut off.

The 7.2 magnitude quake struck at 8:43 a.m. (2343 GMT Friday) in Iwate, a sparsely populated, scenic area around 300 km (190 miles) north of Tokyo, where buildings also shook.

More than 160 aftershocks rocked the northern area and officials warned more strong quakes might be in store.

"There's one whole mountain gone. It's all over the road now," said one woman in her 50s, who said she and her husband had been en route to a hot spring resort but had to abandon their car and walk because roads were blocked by a landslide.

TV footage showed mountains carved away by the force of the quake, trees fallen into newly slashed ravines, roads ending abruptly at cliffs and bridges buckled and broken. Homes were shown strewn with scattered and smashed belongings.

"Dishes and spices fell, the microwave came flying and the doors of the refrigerator flew open all in a second," said 58-year-old Kinoko Hayasaka.

But experts said the energy released by the quake was far less than the magnitude 7.9 earthquake that hit southwestern China on May 12, leaving nearly 87,000 people dead or missing.

Water containing a small amount of radiation leaked within a Tokyo Electric Power Co nuclear power facility in the region, but there was no leakage outside, a spokesman for Japan's biggest utility said.