Mar 20 (NHK) - Many homes in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures are still without water more than three days after a powerful quake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan.
The quake on late Wednesday registered an intensity of 6-plus on Japan's seismic scale of 0 to 7 in hardest-hit areas. Three people died in the two prefectures.
The internal affairs ministry says a total of 221 houses were confirmed to have been damaged in Miyagi, Fukushima and three other prefectures as of 10 a.m. on Sunday.
As of Sunday morning, a total of about 20,000 houses in Miyagi and Fukushima remained without water.
Local authorities say they are aiming to restore the water supply by the end of Sunday for some regions of Miyagi and the entire Fukushima Prefecture.
East Japan Railway says the operation of the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet trains has been suspended between Nasushiobara Station in Tochigi Prefecture and Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture due to the derailment of one of its trains. The railway company began operating rapid services on Saturday on the Tohoku line, which runs almost in parallel with the bullet train line.
Airlines and bus companies are also operating extra services between Tokyo and northeastern Japan.
