A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu on Sunday, killing an elderly woman, injuring up to 400 people and forcing hundreds to flee their homes, officials and media reports said. The focus of the shallow quake was off the western coast of Fukuoka Prefecture, about 900 km (550 miles) south-west of Tokyo on the island of Kyushu, the meteorological agency said.
It was felt as far away as Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Public broadcaster NHK showed footage of office buildings swaying in Fukuoka city, piles of glass from shattered windows and cracks in pavements. The quake also tilted many buildings around northern Kyushu.
A 75-year-old woman in Fukuoka city died from injuries after a cement-block wall fell on top of her, local police said.
"It was so strong that I thought my house would collapse. I rushed to turn off the stove and evacuated. I felt uneasy because it was my first experience," Toshiyuki Yasukawa, an official in the town of Sue in Fukuoka, told NHK.
Kyodo news agency said about 400 people were treated at hospitals in Fukuoka city, near the focus of the tremor, and that 782 people in the city had evacuated their homes. NHK said 386 were injured across northern Kyushu.
Genkaijima, a small, hilly island 18 km (11 miles) north-east of central Fukuoka with a population of around 700, was hit hard. Media reports said 50 buildings on the island were destroyed and many more partially damaged.
At least seven residents were hurt and an elderly woman was rescued after being trapped for an hour inside a house, NHK said, adding that about 600 of the island's residents were being evacuated to a gymnasium in Fukuoka city.
"I would feel worried if I stayed home, so I came with everyone else. I'm scared, and it brings tears to my eyes," an elderly woman told NHK as she evacuated.
Television footage of the island showed collapsed wooden houses, rocks strewn about from landslides, and many damaged houses, some of which were leaning to one side.
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