Nagano quake leaves 39 injured as houses collapse

There was no damage to any of the seven nuclear reactors at the sprawling Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in neighboring Niigata prefecture as they have been off-line since 2011.

Being off-line does not automatically mean "no damage". I hope that the folks in charge of checking these reactors out for any potential damage ensure that the information they provide is both accurate (accountability) and timely.

My Heart felt thought's go out to them, and I pray for all of them, Earthquake's are never good, as I went though the Northridge Quake and had a friend at the North Ridge Meadows Apartments who survived, I was three blocks away...terrifying morning...

And Abe wants to open up more reactors.

Nuclear power doesn't suit a country as seismically unstable as Japan.

The only “good” it does is to line the pockets of Abe's friends and relations.

Japan, my heart is with your people.

I know 2 guys who have just moved to the gaijin enclave of Hakuba to live the lifestyle.

They are feeling a little circumspect about that this morning.

Didn't feel it here in Tokyo.

Those poor people who lost homes and got hurt. I hope they recover quickly. I felt it here in Tokyo, felt like a distant strong quake, very much a swaying rather than a jumpy one.

Best wishes. Danger preparation was order of the day?

There was no damage to any of the seven nuclear reactors at the sprawling Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in neighboring Niigata prefecture as they have been off-line since 2011.

Can we really believe that ? Especially after all the lies we've been fed ever since the "BIG ONE"... The gods of Japan are warning Abé that there's more to come so nuclear power is NOT an option. Get with it and find better options ! (Hydro would be one).

Here in Tokyo, it had a "rock and roll" feel to it, like being in a boat on the sea. I felt a little nauseous after that one. I pray everyone will get the help they need in the affected areas. Times like this, communities need to bond and become stronger.

(;_;) Greetings I feel so Sad, & scare B'cuz My Dear Son, GrandKids, Frinds, & Family Live there in JP near of Nagano, I Pray to My God for have Mercy of JP !!! AMEN I Lv JP

I am wondering what effect the quakes may have on nearby volcanos. Each can be affected by the other, eruptions create quakes and quakes can awaken volcanos. Needless to say Japan has plenty of both. There are all periods of increased activity.

at a depth of 10 kilometers at the epicenter

A contradiction in terms. It's either "at a depth of 10 kilometers" full stop, or "at the hypocenter". "Epicenter" is a surface location.

Whoah!oh my God! I feel so sad suddenly!

There was no damage to any of the seven nuclear reactors at the sprawling Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in neighboring Niigata prefecture as they have been off-line since 2011.

Yeah. No damage THIS TIME!!! Lucky, aren't you? I still can't believe that in a country that has a long history of very strong earthquakes and a recent one killing 20,000 people and creating a triple meltdown these wombats are still pushing so hard to bring nuclear power back to the forefront. It just defies logic?

From the images I've seen all the buildings that collapse were very old and in poor condition.

Yubaru& others, even the antique Fukushima power plants were not critically damaged by a many times stronger earthquake. The tsunami dealt them the deadly blow.

In Kumagaya, around 120 km ESE of Nagano, I felt the first shock strongly enough to be concerned (even if my cell phone app hadn't gone of 10 or 15 seconds before it). It was an odd, slow, back&forth motion rather than the usual faster movement, and with no discernible up&down motion, at least to me.

I didn't feel any of the aftershocks, although at least a couple of them were apparently pretty strong. I know the Hakuba area pretty well, having visited several times, and I worry about those whose houses have been destroyed, especially since it'll be snowing before long.

I'm glad that there seem to have been no fatalities. From TV reports, it seems that the local preparations, especially sharing and updating information on who/how many people live where, was of great help in locating and rescuing those trapped in their homes.

I hope that the injured recover quickly and completely, and that the damage can be repaired soon.

There was no damage to the seven nuclear reactors at the sprawling Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in neighboring Niigata prefecture as they have been off-line since 2011.

Well this is a big blow to PM Abe's plan to restart those reactor again.

I did feel the quake here in Tokyo right after watching the warning on Television (It's rare that you see the warning first). They posted 3 more notices for smaller after shocks very late in the evening, but I didn't feel the smaller ones. It was a busy night of quakes in central Japan.

The difference in measurement is quite a lot. Exponentially, a 6.2 and 6.8?

The two measurements are measuring different things, so they aren't comparible.

i wish a speedy recovery of the people who got injured, the Government should also take care of the people who have lost/damage their houses because the cold winter will be extremely difficult for them.

You never know where and when a big quake will strike. Please, everyone, be prepared as best you can.

Guys i was told that japan has specially designed architecture built to sway and endure earthquakes like these, why didn't it work this time? How come no buildings collapsed in the much more severe 2011 disaster??? Anyone know?

As a newbie in Japan I didn't feel the earthquake but I got scared by the alert at the cell phones. I hope the injured recover fast.

No one died. Gladly. In other worda. Why relate it to nuclear reactors? Tsunamis inbthe mountain???. Those reactors have a huge reinforce concrete barrier agains tremors

jump, (a few posts up) the houses that fell are the very old post and beam built houses. They have to be specially reinforced for earthquakes, and the old ones were not. 2x4 houses are stronger in earthquakes. I have an architect friend in Kobe who built 2x4 houses from two to four years before the Great Harshen Quake, and his houses stood while older post and beam houses were destroyed. That was a 7.6 quake if I remember right.

My prayers also for the people affected in Nagano Ken. Back in early '80s, we lived near Oomachi, used to ski at Hakuba every week. Love that area. We only had one big quake there back then, it was maybe the same magnitude, I forgot, but it was a big one for Nagano Ken.

@kiyoshiMukai

Concrete cracks. And there were seven in the area.

Getting' hard for Japan to catch a break these days….

@gygen & @Educator60 thanks for the info