Recovery efforts underway in quake-affected areas in Japan's Nagano Prefecture - nhk.or.jp

Recovery efforts are underway in areas of Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, that were jolted by strong weekend earthquakes.

A magnitude 5.0 quake hit a northern part of the prefecture at around 1:20 p.m. on Saturday. The cities of Omachi and Nagano recorded a seismic intensity of upper 5 and lower 5, respectively, on the country's scale of zero to 7.

About 90 minutes later, another quake took place with a magnitude of 5.1. Both cities registered an intensity of lower 5.

Omachi officials say they have not received any reports of casualties. But they add they have confirmed 34 cases of roof tiles falling from homes, with 15 of them occurring in the Yasaka district.

One day after the quakes, Yasaka residents were busy clearing fallen tiles and consulting building contractors about how to repair their homes.

Omachi officials expedited the process of ascertaining degrees of damage to homes. They also teamed up with community residents to cover damaged roofs with plastic sheets. They say they hope to finish the work before rain starts to fall on Tuesday.

A resident in his 40s said his home sustained heavy damage due to significant horizontal shaking, but he is thankful that no one was injured. He added that he is worried if more quakes may happen as he lives with his mother, who is in her 90s.