Sports/Olympics / Basketball

Quake rattles Tokyo during Worlds
(AP)
Updated: 2006-09-01 15:00

SAITAMA, Japan -- A 4.8-magnitude earthquake jolted the Tokyo region on Thursday during halftime of the Lithuania-Turkey game in the FIBA championships.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, the Meteorological Agency reported, and there was almost no reaction from the people in the Super Arena in Saitama, 17 miles north of Tokyo.

The quake shook buildings in central Tokyo and outside the capital.

The teams had just left the court at halftime of the classification game when the building shook for a few seconds. No announcement was made and the second half started without a delay.

The quake came about two hours after the U.S. team finished practicing at the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences in central Tokyo. USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller said some staff members said they felt something, though there was no damage at the Four Seasons hotel where the Americans are staying.

The quake was centered in Tokyo Bay off the coast of Chiba Prefecture, just east of the capital, at a depth of 43 miles below sea level, the Meteorological Agency said.