- Massive 6.4 earthquake hits southern part of Japan on Thursday
- Reports say that there are an unknown number of people trapped in collapsed buildings
- At least two have died in the town of Mashiki
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 struck southern Japan on Thursday causing damage. One aftershock measuring 5.7 struck about 40 minutes later, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency.
U.S. Geological Survey put the quake’s preliminary magnitude at a 6.0 and said that it was about 14 miles deep. Footage on Japan’s NHK network showed a signal board hanging from the ceiling in its local bureau violently shaking, file cabinets rattled, files and papers and rain down to the floor. One employee appear to have fallen off the chair while others slid underneath their desks to protect their heads.
A report at CNN however said that authorities have reported that at least two people have died and 19 houses collapsed.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that there is an unknown number of people that are still trapped under collapsed buildings as of Thursday night. NHK said that several fires also broke out in the town of Mashiki, and the Kumamoto Prefecture Disaster Management Office reported that two deaths occurred in Mashiki, one person died in a collapsed house, and the other died in a fire.
Officials said they were still assessing the damage but the director of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s earthquake division, Gen Aoki also warned that more aftershocks could follow over the next week.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck near Ueki, Japan.
The strongest recorded earthquake to hit Japan was on March 11, 2011. The magnitude-9.0 quake’s epicenter was 231 miles northeast of Tokyo and caused major devastation to the country. That temblor also triggered a tsunami that destroyed entire communities, and caused tragic meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
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