AP Photo/Kyodo News
Family members clean the floors of their fruit shop as bottles and cans are scattered after a strong quake hit Kushiro, northern Japan, Sept. 26, 2003. Damage from the magnitude-8 quake was relatively light, not only because it struck deep under the ocean but also because people in the quake-prone region were prepared.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
Workers examine a cave-in on a road Sept. 26, 2003, after the wold's most-powerful earthquake in 2-1/2 years hit in Kushiro, northern Japan.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
Smoke rises from an oil tank at the Idemitsu Kosan Co. refinery in Tomakomai, southern Hokkaido, Sept. 26, 2003 after a powerful earthquake sparked a fire there. This photo was provided by Sapporo Fire Department.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
Workers clear the debris scattered on the floor of Kushiro airport building after a strong quake hit the city in northern Japan, Sept. 26, 2003.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
Smoke rises from an oil tank at an Idemitsu Kosan Co. refinery in Tomakomai, southern Hokkaido, Sept. 26, 2003. The earthquake sparked a fire there. This photo was provided by Sapporo Fire Department.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
Tombstones are seen knocked down after a strong quake hit Kushiro, in northern Japan, Sept. 26, 2003.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
The observation deck of the Taiki town office was damaged by the early-morning earthquake.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
Black smoke billows from a burning industrial plant in Tomakomai after the earthquake.
AP Photo/Japan Coast Guard
The pier of Tokachi port is awash with sea water after a tidal wave triggered by a powerful earthquake surged to the port in southern Hokkaido.
AP
Residents look at a small metal processing factory which collapsed in Shironuka, about 13 miles west of Kushiro on Hokkaido island, northern Japan, Sept. 26, 2003, after a powerful earthquake hit the area early in the morning. The sign reads: "Ibata Sheet Metal Processing Co. Ltd."
AP Photo/Kyodo News
Residents take a rest at a shelter in Toyokoro, Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, Sept. 26, 2003.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
A fishing boat is beached on the pier of Tokachi port, on Hokkaido, Sept. 26, 2003, after a tidal wave hit the area.
AP Photo/Kyodo News
A worker starts clearing the floor scattered with books that fell from the shelves at a book store in Obihiro, northern Japan, after a big earthquake struck, Sept. 26, 2003.
AP
Workers look at the damaged ceiling of the terminal of Kushiro airport after a powerful earthquake hit the area, Sept. 26, 2003.