TOKYO — A strong earthquake knocked over walls and set off scattered fires around the city of Osaka in western Japan on Monday morning, and three people are now confirmed dead.
The Osaka prefectural government and an Ibaraki city official reported a 9-year-old girl and two men in their 80s have been killed by the magnitude 6.1 earthquake. It struck shortly after 8 a.m. north of Osaka at a depth of about 13 kilometers, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The initial strength of the quake was measured at 5.9.
The strongest shaking was north of Osaka, the agency said.
The quake knocked over walls, broke windows and set off scattered building fires. It toppled book shelves in homes and scattered goods on the floor of convenience stores and other shops.
The morning commute was disrupted as train and subway service in the Osaka area including the bullet train were suspended to check for damage to equipment. Television images showed passengers getting off trains onto the tracks between stations.
