A STRONG earthquake has hit southwestern Japan, bringing down buildings, killing at least nine people and injuring hundreds, as rescuers scramble to find residents feared trapped in rubble.
Eight of the dead were from the hardest-hit town of Mashiki, about 15km east of Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu.
The initial 6.5-magnitude quake struck at 9.26pm (10.20pm AEST) at a depth of 11km near Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
There was no tsunami risk.
Residents walk past a house damaged by the earthquake in the town of Mashiki. Picture: Yu Nakajima/Kyodo News.Source:AP
More than 100 aftershocks strong enough to be felt followed in the same region.
Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed firefighters tackling a blaze in a building in Mashiki, a town of about 34,000 people near the epicentre of the quake.
Firefighters speak to a resident trapped inside a house in the town of Mashiki. Picture: Takara Okura/Kyodo News.Source:AP
About 16,500 households in and around Mashiki were without electricity as of 2am, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened a meeting of emergency management officials.
A woman cleans her store destroyed by the earthquake in the town of Mashiki. Picture: Ryosuke Uematsu/Kyodo News.Source:AP
He pledged the government would do everything possible to support search and rescue work and help those who had fled their homes.
“We are doing everything to avoid a second disaster because of aftershocks, and to offer the necessary help to those affected,” he told reporters this morning.
Japanese media showed residents, some of them wrapped in blankets, huddling in parking lots and other open space for fear of further building collapses.
JAPAN: Crowd Reacts to Aftershock of Japan Earthquake April 140:15
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Thursday, April 14. The earthquake was felt in the Kumamoto prefecture and there were widespread reports of damages. This video, shot by a Canadian tourist, shows a crowd reacting to one of the earthquake?s aftershocks. Credit: itsnixin
“The apartment building I live in is now tilting. Everything fell down inside. It’s a mess,” a male resident in Mashiki said on NHK.
“The shaking was so violent I couldn’t stand still,” said Hironobu Kosaki, a Kumamoto Prefectural Police night-duty official.
At least nine people were confirmed dead, a Kumamoto disaster management official said.
A man walks on a road damaged by the earthquake in the town of Mashiki. Picture: Yusuke Ogata/Kyodo News.Source:AP
“As far as we can tell from infra-red images from a police helicopter, there appears to be a significant number of houses destroyed or half-collapsed,” said disaster minister Taro Kono.
“There are fears the number of injured could rise.”
As the death toll rose in the night, an eight-month-old baby girl was pulled from the rubble alive and unharmed, NHK reported.
This aerial photo shows houses damaged in Mashiki, Kumamoto prefecture. Picture: Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News.Source:AP
A car sits crushed by a house damaged in Thursday's earthquake in Mashiki, Kumamoto. Picture: Yusuke Ogata/Kyodo News.Source:AP
Some 350 military personnel were dispatched for rescue work on the island, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, appealing for calm.
“I ask people in the disaster zone to act calmly and help each other,” he said.
In the town of Mashiki, scores of people gathered in front the town hall following the powerful shaking, some in tears while others wrapped themselves in blankets to ward off the night-time chill.
Kumamoto Castle stands damaged after the magnitude-6.5 earthquake in Kumamoto city, southern Japan. Picture: Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News.Source:AP
This aerial photo shows damaged houses in the town of Mashiki, Kumamoto prefecture. Picture: Kyodo News.Source:AP
Officials in Kumamoto prefecture said they were considering evacuating a hospital that was badly damaged, while several major manufacturers including Honda, Bridgestone, Mitsubishi and Sony suspended operations at their factories in the area, according to reports.
Japan’s two sole operating nuclear reactors, located on Kyushu, were functioning normally, an official at the Sendai plant told AFP.
Residents take shelter outside the town hall of Mashiki, near Kumamoto city, southern Japan. Picture: Ryosuke Uematsu/Kyodo News.Source:AP
The epicentre was 120km northeast of Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai nuclear plant, the only one operating in the country.
Most of Japan’s nuclear reactors remain offline following the meltdowns at the Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima plant in 2011 after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a huge tsunami.
Residents take shelter outside the town hall of Mashiki, near Kumamoto city, southern Japan.Source:AP
A woman collects fallen dishes at a restaurant after an earthquake in Kumamoto, southern Japan.Source:AP
Train services on Kyushu were temporarily halted after the earthquake and a super fast bullet train derailed, though it was not carrying passengers at the time, said Yusuke Nanri, a spokesman for operator JR Kyushu.
He said it was not clear if the train was travelling or stationary when the quake struck.
A house collapses following the earthquake in Mashiki, near Kumamoto city, southern Japan. Picture: Yuta Iida/Kyodo News.Source:AP
One of the victims in Mashiki died after being pulled from some rubble, and the other was killed in a fire, Matsushita said.
A third person rescued from under a collapsed building is in a state of heart and lung failure.
Mr Matsushita said rescue operations were repeatedly disrupted by aftershocks.
A house partially collapsed is seen after the earthquake in Mashiki, Kumamoto, Japan.Source:Getty Images
“There was a kaboom and the whole house shook violently sideways,” Takahiko Morita, a Mashiki resident said in a telephone interview with Japanese broadcaster NHK.
“Furniture and bookshelves fell down, and books were all over the floor.”
Morita said some houses and walls collapsed in his neighbourhood, and water supply had been cut off.
Firefighters carry an injured person after the earthquake in the town of Mashiki, in Kumamoto, southern Japan. Picture: Kyodo News.Source:AP
Keisukei Urata, an official in nearby Uki city who was driving home when the quake struck, told NHK that parts of the ceiling at Uki City Hall collapsed, windows broke and cabinets fell to the ground.
Kasumi Nakamura, an official in the village of Nishihara, said that the rattling started modestly and grew violent, lasting about 30 seconds.
“Papers, files, flower vases and everything fell on the floor,” he told NHK.
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A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Japanese island of Kyushu. Footage showed significant shaking in the city of Kumamoto. Photo: AP
Aftershocks were likely to continue for about a week, officials said.
Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences around 20 per cent of the world’s most powerful earthquakes.
But rigid building codes and strict enforcement mean even powerful tremors frequently do only limited damage.
Residents take shelter at the town hall of Mashiki, in Kumamoto, southern Japan, after the earthquake.Source:AP
In March 2011, a quake of magnitude 9 struck offshore north of Tokyo, causing tsunami waves along the coast that killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered a nuclear power plant meltdown.
Meanwhile, Vanuatu was also hit by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake today which struck off the coast just hours after another strong tremor in the same area, but no tsunami alerts were issued.
There were no immediate reports of any damage in Vanuatu.
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