This aerial view shows some houses which were collapsed by a massive earthquake at Kashiwazaki city in Niigata prefecture, 250km north of Tokyo, July 16, 2007. Clean up and rescue operation as well as aid to the quake victims are under way a day after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit the coast.
Cars avoid holes and cracks on a road heavily damaged by the by the magnitude 6.8 earthquake on July 17, 2007 in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
A family of evacuees rest at a shelter in Kashiwazaki, northeastern Japan, Tuesday, July 17, 2007.
Local residents attempt to pry open a door to their damaged house next to a totaled house in Kashiwazaki, Japan, Tuesday, July 17, 2007.
A man makes his way along a split road after a strong earthquake hit Nagaoka in Niigata prefecture, Monday, July 16, 2007.
A derailed railcar at the Kashiwazaki train station after a strong earthquake rocked the city in Niigata Prefecture.
Damage to the national highway after the earthquake, July 16, 2007.
A man stands near a collapsed house in Kashiwazaki, Monday, July 16, 2007.
A man stands outside a collapsed house in Kashiwazaki, Monday, July 16, 2007.
A boy pedals a bicycle past a damaged house in Kashiwazaki, Monday, July 16, 2007.
Vehicles go slowly on a damaged road in Kashiwazaki, Monday, July 16, 2007.
A woman carrying a child stands outside a collapsed house in Kashiwazaki, Monday, July 16, 2007.
Rail tracks are buried under mud in Kashiwazaki after the strong earthquake triggered a landslide, Monday, July 16, 2007.
Rescuers sift through the debris of a collapsed house in Kashiwazaki, Monday, July 16, 2007.
A temple collapsed by the earthquake in Kashiwazaki, Monday, July 16, 2007.
One heck of a speed bump! People look at a road damaged by the earthquake in Kariwa village in Niigata Prefecture, Monday, July 16, 2007.
Black smoke rises from a burning electrical transformer near one of Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Plant's four reactors after a fire broke out, Monday, July 16, 2007. The nuclear plant automatically shut down during the 6.8-magnitude quake, but there was no damage to the reactors.
The Express Highway in Kashiwazaki is cracked by the magnitude 6.8 earthquake on July 17, 2007.
Niigata Police check a house in Kashiwazaki destroyed by the earthquake on July 17, 2007.
Residents look at the damage in Kashiwazaki, July 16, 2007.