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By MARI YAMAGUCHI
TOKYO (AP) – A powerful 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocked the Tokyo area on Thursday evening, injuring more than 30 people, damaging underground water pipes and stopping trains and subways.
Traffic disruptions continued on Friday morning, with local trains delayed and commuters overwhelming stations.
The Meteorological Agency said the quake was centered in Chiba Prefecture, just east of Tokyo, at a depth of about 80 kilometers (48 miles). There was no danger of a tsunami.
This caused buildings to sway and hanging objects such as traffic signs sway violently. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said there were no anomalies at nuclear facilities in the region.
Most trains operated Friday morning, but with significant delays and entry restrictions to avoid overcrowding. There was a long line outside Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, and hundreds of morning commuters were overflowing from Kawaguchi Station.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said on Friday that 32 people were injured, three of them seriously, from the quake.
Police in Chiba Prefecture, where 11 people were injured, said two women in separate locations sprained their ankles when they were thrown to the ground during the quake. A commuter train partially derailed in eastern Tokyo when it made an emergency stop, causing three passengers to fall and slightly injure three passengers, according to the disaster management agency.
Others were injured in Kanagawa, Saitama and Gunma prefectures.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said about 250 homes in downtown Tokyo temporarily lost power.
The “Shinkansen” super express trains to and from Tokyo were stopped for security checks, but then resumed operations, East Japan Railway Co. said.
Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line and subways restarted Thursday evening, but with significant delays. Outside Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, where local trains were temporarily stopped due to power outages, there was a long line of people trying to get taxis home.
Dozens of people in Tokyo, Kanagawa and Chiba have been stranded in train stations, and some have taken refuge in facilities set up by local municipalities.
Many elevators automatically stopped, including those in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, temporarily trapping some people.
Fire and disaster officials said underground water pipes had been damaged in dozens of places in Tokyo. In one neighborhood, water was gushing out from the ground.
New Prime Minister Fumio Kishida posted a message on Twitter urging people to “check for the latest information and take action to protect your lives.” He said it was the strongest shaking in Tokyo since March 2011.
Kishida returned to his office Thursday evening to lead the government’s response.
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