The death toll has hit 39 from a powerful earthquake that struck the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido last week. One person remained missing in the town of Atsuma, where multiple landslides triggered by the quake slammed into houses at the foot of steep hills. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Kiyota ward on the eastern edge of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. The magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck before daybreak on Thursday and knocked out power and train service across Hokkaido, home to 5.4 million people. About 2,600 people were staying in temporary shelters, down from a peak of 16,600, the Hokkaido government said.

Source: Irish Examiner September 09, 2018 10:30 UTC