M6.9 quake jolts Okinawa Prefecture+

NAHA, Japan, Feb. 27 Kyodo -
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 jolted Okinawa Prefecture
early Saturday morning, causing tidal waves of up to 10 centimeters, the Japan
Meteorological Agency said.

Two people sustained minor injuries while ruptured water pipes were reported in
Naha, the capital of Okinawa, and elsewhere, local authorities said.
The quake logged lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the
city of Itoman on the southern tip of Okinawa's main island.
It was the first temblor with its focus in waters near Okinawa to log that
intensity or more on the island since 1909, while a quake in 1911 with the
epicenter off Amami-Oshima Island registered around upper 5 on the Okinawa
island, according to the weather agency.
The government set up a liaison office at the prime minister's office to gather
information on the quake.
Intensity 4 was registered in Naha, Nago and other locations in Okinawa and on
Yoron Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. Intensity 3 was recorded in some parts of
Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures.
A 74-year-old woman in Naha fell from her bed and a 66-year-old woman in Urasoe
tumbled at her home, both sustaining minor injuries, the prefectural government
and other authorities said.
In Uruma, part of a stone wall collapsed at the remains of Katsurenjo castle, a
World Heritage site, which was built in the 12th or 13th century, according to
the prefectural education board.
A water tank fell from the roof of a house in Okinawa City and damage to water
pipes and water tanks was reported in Naha, Haebaru, Nishihara, Kumejima and
elsewhere in Okinawa Prefecture, which comprises a string of islands.
The agency immediately issued a tsunami warning for coastal regions of Okinawa
Island following the 5:31 a.m. quake but downgraded it to an advisory one hour
later before lifting it around 7 a.m.
Small waves of up to around 10 centimeters reached Nanjo city on the island and
Minamidaito village just before 6 a.m., the agency said.
The quake originated around 10 kilometers underground in waters near Okinawa
Island.
Two people were reported dead in the previous strong quake that hit the region
in August 1909.
==Kyodo
2010-02-27 23:19:27