Hokkaido residents on Thursday recalled being woken by a large, sudden upthrust followed by a long round of shaking just after 3 a.m., and said they were concerned about scores of continuing aftershocks in the region.
"It messed up my entire house. I've never experienced an earthquake like this," said an 87-year-old man in the town of Atsuma, near the epicenter of the magnitude 6.7 quake. He said he had to hurl himself against the door to get out of his house because it was bent by the quake and would not open.
"The shaking was so widespread that I couldn't even prepare to flee," said a 55-year-old woman in the town. She said the quake was so violent that it left her home without water and caused the chimney to break off and land on her vehicle.