Japan quake victims shelter, future uncertain

KASHIWAZAKI, Japan, July 17 (Reuters) More than 12,000 people prepared for a second night in evacuation centres in northwest Japan today after an earthquake the previous day killed nine people, injured more than 1,000 and triggered radioactive leaks from a nuclear plant.

A small fire and a leak of 1,200 litres of water containing radioactive materials at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant -- the world's largest -- reignited fears about nuclear safety in a country reliant on atomic power for one-third of its electricity.

Hundreds of homes were damaged and water, gas and electricity supplies were cut by the 6.8 magnitude quake that hit Niigata prefecture yesterday morning.

''I've barely slept,'' said 35-year-old Kazuko Uchiya, a piano teacher who was at a school-turned-evacuation centre with her 6-year-old son.

''I don't know when I can go home,'' she said. ''The house is still standing -- the structure is OK. But bureaus and shelves have all fallen and I can't get inside. I'm afraid it will shake when I'm inside.'' Nine elderly people were killed and one person was missing, a Niigata prefecture official said. In hard-hit Kashiwazaki City, a team of orange-clad rescue workers with five sniffer dogs said they were calling off operations for the day.

With nearly 800 houses destroyed or damaged in Niigata prefecture alone, it was unclear when people could go home.

Worries were mounting about the health of evacuees, many of whom are elderly.

''The damage was worse than anticipated,'' Kashiwazaki Mayor Hiroshi Kaeda told reporters. ''If we can restore water services more people can go home, so that's what we want to do first.'' Streets in Kashiwazaki were lined with damaged or collapsed houses, mostly wooden structures with heavy tile roofs, and many roads were blocked because of cracks, causing traffic jams.

Some people worked on repairs, covering damaged roofs with blue plastic sheets, while others picked through scattered rubble.

Residents lined up holding plastic bottles for fresh water, which was trucked in by local officials and a contingent of about 500 members of the armed forces.

NUCLEAR FEARS The navy shipped in emergency rations and helmeted soldiers in camouflage uniforms made rice balls to hand out at evacuation centres, where crowds huddled sitting on ''tatami'' straw mats with blankets and a few belongings.

Authorities warned residents taking shelter in cars of the dangers of falling ill from blood clots due to immobility, the ''economy class syndrome'' that killed many after a 2004 quake that hit a nearby district and left 65 dead.

The quake halted gas service to about 35,000 homes and disrupted the water supply to all of Kashiwazaki, a city with a population of around 95,000 whose economy relies on nuclear power generation and fishing. More than 25,000 homes and other places were without electricity, public broadcaster NHK said.

TEPCO had initially said there was no radiation leak, but late yesterday it said water containing radioactive materials had leaked from a unit at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant.

Contaminated water reached the sea but had no effect on the environment, the company said, adding that the quake was stronger than its reactors had been designed to withstand.

A fire in an electricity transformer at the plant was quickly extinguished but it was unclear when power units could restart after the trade minister said safety must first be ensured.

Today, the company also admitted that a small amount of radioactive materials -- cobalt-60, iodine and chromium-51 -- had been emitted into the atmosphere, but that it would take a week or two to figure out the cause.

A trade ministry official said the amounts were too small to pose an environmental threat.

Kyodo news agency said about 100 drums containing low-level nuclear waste at the plant were knocked over and some lost their lids, and checks were being made on any environmental impact.

Media and residents urged the nuclear industry to take heed.

Retired taxi driver Tomiji Okura, 72, said the nuclear industry had boosted his business but reactors had to be able to withstand earthquakes. ''When you have something like this, it's scary,'' he said. ''I want them to be made safe.'' Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes, and for many Niigata residents, there was a tragic sense of deja vu.

The prefecture was hit in October 2004 by a quake, also with a magnitude of 6.8, that killed 65 people and injured more than 3,000. It was the deadliest quake in Japan since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit Kobe city in 1995, killing more than 6,400.

REUTERS PD HT1422