5.1 earthquake hits north of Tokyo
{{date|October 17, 2005}}

An earthquake that rated 5.1 on the Richter scale hit north of [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]] on 16 October.

The quake was centered 40km underground, in the southern Ibaraki Prefecture.

The high-rise builidings shook but no major damage was reported and only two people were injured. No tsunami warning was issued 

Local and [[w:bullet train|bullet train]] services stopped to check the tracks but service quickly resumed.

Services at Tokyo's [[w:Haneda Airport|Haneda Airport]] were disrupted by there were no major delays.

The earthquake was rated 4 out of seven on the Japanese seismic scale and affected certain areas of the  [[w:Ibaraki|Ibaraki]], [[w:Tochigi|Tochigi]], [[w:Saitama|Saitama]], Tokyo and [[w:Kanagawa|Kanagawa]] prefectures.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. Located in the [[w:Ring of Fire|Ring of Fire]] arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the [[w:Pacific Basin|Pacific Basin]], Japan accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. Every year, there are up to 2,000 quakes that can be felt by people. 

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411319/620012
|title=	Earthquake jolts Tokyo 
|author=
|pub=tvnz.co.nz
|date=October 16, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,7369,1593753,00.html
|title=Transport disrupted as Tokyo hit by earthquake 
|author=
|pub=Guardian Unlimited
|date=October 17, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20051017a2.htm
|title=Quake shakes eastern Japan; two hurt in Saitama
|author=
|pub=The Japan Times
|date=October 17, 2005}}
*{{source|
url=http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051016-074207-8774r
|title=5.1 earthquake shakes Japan
|author=
|pub=United Press International
|date=October 16, 2005}}

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[[Category:Japan]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Tokyo]]
[[Category:Disasters and accidents]]
An earthquake that rated 5.1 on the Richter scale hit north of Tokyo, Japan on 16 October.

The quake was centered 40km underground, in the southern Ibaraki Prefecture.

The high-rise builidings shook but no major damage was reported and only two people were injured. No tsunami warning was issued 

Local and bullet train services stopped to check the tracks but service quickly resumed.

Services at Tokyo's Haneda Airport were disrupted by there were no major delays.

The earthquake was rated 4 out of seven on the Japanese seismic scale and affected certain areas of the  Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saitama, Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. Located in the Ring of Fire arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin, Japan accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. Every year, there are up to 2,000 quakes that can be felt by people.
Japan Asia Tokyo Disasters and accidents