Magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits Japan

Mar. 25 - Landslides and buckled roads paralyse traffic in central Japan after earthquake kills one.

A strong earthquake killed one person and injured more than 150 in central Japan, demolishing houses, buckling roads, triggering landslides and cutting off water supplies to thousands of homes.

At least 25 houses collapsed and 200 were seriously damaged when the 6.9 magnitude earthquake - which was also felt in Tokyo - struck at 9:42 a.m. (0042 GMT).

The quake's focus was at a depth of 11 km (7 miles) below the seabed off the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, about 300 km (190 miles) west of Tokyo.

A 52-year-old woman died in Wajima after being trapped under a stone lantern that toppled in her garden.

Anxious residents gathered outside their homes in Wajima, as a series of aftershocks - including a 4.3 magnitude quake - were felt, and officials warned more could be in store.

More than 1,000 Wajima residents whose homes were damaged were evacuated to emergency shelters.