Quake halts all trains on Japan island

A road is damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. A powerful earthquake shook Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido early Thursday, causing landslides that crushed homes, knocking out power across the island. (Hiroki Yamauchi/Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO — The main railway company on the quake-hit northern Japanese island of Hokkaido said all trains have stopped due to power outage.

Hokkaido Railway Co. said high-speed bullet and all local trains on the island are halted. The company said it cannot update information on the social media due to the blackout.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Hokkaido early Thursday morning, knocking out power to nearly 3 million households. The outage also affected subways, power plants, and hospitals.

Trade, Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said damage at the main thermal power plant is delaying power restoration and that utility officials are rushing to get several other thermal and hydroelectric plants working to at least deliver some electricity within a day or two. /kga