The latest: power stations restart in Japan's disaster zone


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TOKYO – The latest news on the powerful earthquake in northern Japan (all local times):

3:15 p.m.

The utility operator on Hokkaido Island, in northern Japan, has restarted a thermal power plant and small hydropower plants to restore electricity in some areas that lost power after a powerful earthquake.

The 6.7 magnitude earthquake on Thursday morning destroyed the energy of nearly 3 million homes and forced essential services such as hospitals and traffic lights to use generators or other backup facilities. Some have been restored to places on the island after security checks.

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. said that Tomato Atsuma's large thermal power plant had been damaged and that the restart would take about a week. As part of its repair work, the utility operator commissioned a less power generating thermal power plant as well as dozens of small hydropower plants.

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2:40 p.m.

The Japanese nuclear regulator said that outside energy was restored in the three reactors of a nuclear power plant after a massive earthquake in Hokkaido.

The three reactors at the Tomari plant have been replaced by backup generators to safely conserve spent fuel. The Nuclear Regulation Authority says there is no anomaly at the plant.

Restoring electricity to the plant will not help restore electricity to the rest of Hokkaido, as the reactors are offline for regular security checks after the magnitude 6.7 earthquake.

The loss of external power briefly raised concerns because it recalled the Fukushima nuclear collapses in 2011, triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami that destroyed electricity and major cooling systems.

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1:05 p.m.

The main railway company of the island of Hokkaido, north of Japan and affected by the earthquake, said that all trains had stopped due to a power outage.

Hokkaido Railway Co. says that the bullet at high speed and all local trains on the island are stopped. The company says it can not update the information on social media because of the outage.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Hokkaido on Thursday morning, destroying nearly 3 million homes. The blackout also affected the subway, power plants and hospitals.

The Minister of Commerce, Economy and Industry, Hiroshige Seko, claims that the damage to the thermal power plant is delaying the refurbishment and that the utilities are hurrying to provide at least one day or two of electricity.

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12:35

Japan's economy minister said that the damage caused by a powerful earthquake on the main power plant delayed the restoration of electricity on the main island north of Hokkaido for more than a week.

Nearly 3 million households are without power on the island after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit south of Hokkaido on Thursday morning.

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshige Seko, initially instructed public utility officials to restore power to the Tomato Atsuma thermal power plant "in a matter of hours".

The authorities are trying to set up several other thermal and hydroelectric plants to recover at least energy from the island. Seko says the government is also organizing an extra diet from the mainland and sending vehicles generating electricity to hospitals.

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This article corrects the spelling of the plant.

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11:35

A spokesman for the Japanese government said two people had been confirmed dead following a powerful earthquake that shook the main island of Hokkaido in the north of the country.

Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said research was under way for those missing after the earthquake triggered in dozens of landslides in the mountainous area near the epicenter. The magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Hokkaido early Thursday morning also broke the energy on the North Island.

Aerial imagery showed areas of brown soil on many heavily forested mountains, crushed houses, farm buildings and roads buried by avalanches of mud, logs and other debris.

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10:15

The Japanese national channel NHK reports that 125 people have been injured and about 20 others are reported missing after a powerful earthquake that caused dozens of landslides in the heavily forested mountains of the main island. Hokkaido.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit southern Hokkaido early Thursday morning. The power has been eliminated across the island.

The government said the airports and many roads on the island had been closed following the earthquake.

Authorities said 25,000 troops and other personnel were being sent to the area to assist in relief operations.

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8:30

Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshige Seko, told reporters that efforts were underway to restore power to Hokkaido.

Nearly 3 million households in a vast area are without power after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that hit southern Hokkaido at 3:08 am Thursday at 6:08 pm Wednesday at a depth of 40 kilometers (24 miles).

Seko said the government plans to use electricity from the region's four hydropower plants because not all fossil fuel plants in the region are functioning.

Places like hospitals will have priority, he said, noting that he hoped to recover the current "in a few hours".

Energy is still present in the Tomari nuclear power plant, but backup generators have continued to operate, according to the government's nuclear authorities. The factory has also closed.

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4 o'clock in the morning

On Thursday, a powerful earthquake hit large areas of the main island of Hokkaido, in the far north of Japan, causing landslides and causing power loss in nearly 3 million homes. and a nuclear power station.

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck southern Hokkaido Thursday at 3:08 am (1808 GMT Wednesday) at a depth of 40 kilometers (24 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The epicenter of the earthquake was east of the city of Tomakomai. He also hit the prefectural capital of Hokkaido, Sapporo, which has 1.9 million inhabitants.

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This story has been corrected to say that the name of the thermal plant is Tomato Atsuma and not Tomato Azuma.

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