Sunday, March 20 2005 09:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Tokyo: A powerful earthquake rattled southern Japan today (Mar 20, 2005), swaying buildings and prompting authorities to warn of a tsunami. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The magnitude 7.0 quake, which hit off the coast of Kyushu Island at 10:53 hrs local time (07:23 IST), was centred at an "extremely shallow" depth below the ocean floor, the Meteorological Agency said.

The agency warned of the possibility of 50-centimeter tsunami waves triggered by the seismic activity, and cautioned residents near the water to move to higher ground.

Police said that there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Local officials in southern Fukuoka prefecture (State), about 899 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, told public broadcaster NHK TV that the shaking, which lasted as long as 30 seconds, toppled desks and knocked books off shelves and made it difficult to stand.

Officials reported water main breaks, and the possibility of power blackouts. Local and bullet train railway service was halted, after an automatic safety mechanism was triggered by the tremors, NHK said.

NHK showed tall office buildings and street lamps in the centre of Fukuoka city, nearest the epicentre, shaking violently. In residential areas, cracks appeared in sidewalks and parts of retainer walls flaked off.

Fukuoka airport was temporarily closed to inspect the runway for damage, Japan's Kyodo News agency said.