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AP Graphic JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
By KOJI SASAHARA
NAGAOKA, Japan (AP) - Yet another strong earthquake hit northern Japan on Wednesday, hours after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi traveled to the area to inspect collapsed homes and speak to survivors of a series of weekend temblors.
The death toll rose to 31 as elderly victims died from the effects of a magnitude-6.8 quake on Saturday, the deadliest to hit the island nation in nearly a decade.
Aftershocks had rumbled across largely rural Niigata prefecture, about 160 miles northwest of Tokyo, following the quake, buckling roads and unleashing landslides.
Homeless people in evacuation centers threw themselves to the floor and screamed in horror as Wednesday's magnitude-6.0 temblor rumbled through the area, followed about 25 minutes later by a magnitude-4.2 aftershock.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the stronger quake was centered at a depth of six miles in Hirokami, a village of 9,200 also about 150 miles northwest of Tokyo. The agency said there was no danger of tsunami (tidal) waves.
"Aftershocks are continuing - we don't know what the damage situation is yet,'' said Kazumasa Sakurai, an official at the Hirokami city hall.
Sakurai said standing lamps and objects on desks where thrown to the floor by the force of the quake. No injuries were reported.
Kyodo News reported that workers rescued an unharmed 80-year-old woman from the debris of a house that collapsed in Ojiya, one of the worst-hit areas on Saturday. Public broadcaster NHK also reported that a photo shop in the town had caved in and fire officials were investigating whether any victims were caught in the wreckage.
The train station in Nagaoka, the largest city in the quake zone, was badly shaken and was in danger of collapse, the Niigata Prefectural Police said. NHK also reported that water and gas lines had broken in the area.
The quake was so strong that people in temporary shelters had difficulty standing, national broadcaster NHK reported. Buildings swayed in the Japanese capital.
Another 5,000 residents had entered public shelters amid fears the aftershocks would trigger more landslides, raising the total of evacuated people to more than 103,000. Thousands more camped out in tents and cars, too afraid to return home.
On Tuesday, Koizumi stopped in Ojiya to look at a wooden home the quake had reduced to a pile of debris as an official explained the building was once two stories tall.
At a nearby high-school gymnasium, the prime minister shook hands and briefly chatted with people camped out on the floor.
"The victims very much want us to help them return to their normal lives as soon as possible,'' Koizumi said. "I've again been made keenly aware of the need to put together response measures for both the national and local governments.''
Asked if he would be willing to issue bonds to pay for reconstruction costs, Koizumi said he would "take measures for necessary funds,'' but he avoided discussing specifics.
The stress of living in shelters has pressured the quake survivors, many of whom are elderly.
A 91-year-old man died from post-traumatic shock at a hospital in the town of Koide on Tuesday. An 81-year-old man from nearby Ojiya died from a stroke. Three others died from various earthquake-induced problems, raising the death toll to 31.
A steady drizzle forecast to last through Wednesday and temperatures expected to drop to freezing overnight added to the woes, as did a warning from the Meteorological Agency that a magnitude 6.0 or higher earthquake may strike within the next few days.
By Wednesday morning, more than 440 aftershocks strong enough to be felt had hit since Saturday, although they were starting to become less frequent.
With many roads still blocked off by landslides, relief workers and troops in helicopters and cars struggled to get emergency goods to isolated hamlets and overcrowded evacuation centers.
As of Tuesday evening, 28,500 households lacked electricity and 45,000 did not have running water.
Recovery efforts moved forward in some areas. The Hokuriku highway, a major thoroughfare running through Nagaoka, reopened late Tuesday after being repaired.
The Niigata government launched plans to build temporary homes in Nagaoka by year's end for those who lost their homes, said Nobuyuki Kondo of Nagaoka city hall.
The housing should accommodate 2,200 people from the nearby village of Yamakoshi, which was almost completely wiped out in the quake, as well as thousands left homeless in Nagaoka, Kondo said.
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