Aftershocks rattle Japan as toll rises to nine
Aftershocks rattled southwestern Japan after a strong quake killed nine people, injured at least 1000 and left thousands without power or water, although nuclear plants in the area avoided damage.
By Friday afternoon, more than 130 aftershocks had hit the area around the city of Kumamoto on Kyushu Island in the wake of the initial magnitude 6.4 quake on Thursday night.
Officials said the frequency was tapering off but the risk of further strong aftershocks would remain for about a week.
Kumamoto Castle shows damage by Thursday's earthquake in Kyushu, southern Japan. Yusuke Ogata
The magnitude of Thursday's quake was much lower than that of the 9.0 quake that touched off a massive tsunami and nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima on March 11, 2011. However, the intensity was similar because it struck on land and at a much shallower depth.
More than 44,000 people initially fled to schools and community centres, some spending the night outside after the first quake hit around 9.30pm.
Roads cracked, houses crumbled, and tiles cascaded from the roof of the 400-year-old Kumamoto Castle in the centre of the city.
"We managed to huddle into a space, that's why we were saved," one man told NHK national television after he and his family were rescued from their collapsed house two hours after the quake hit. "We're all safe, that's what counts."
Among those pulled from the wreckage was a five-month-old baby girl, wrapped in a blanket and passed hand to hand by firefighters. Several hospitals had to evacuate patients.
More than 3000 troops, police and firemen were dispatched to the area from around Japan, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said more would be sent if needed.
Residents take shelter outside the town hall of Mashiki, near Kumamoto city, southern Japan, after the earthquake on early Friday. Ryosuke Uematsu
"We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of local residents," Abe told a parliamentary committee.
Most of the dead came from Mashiki, a town of about 34,000 people near the epicentre of the quake.
Daylight showed splintered houses under tiled roofs and an apartment building whose ground floor was pulverised, where two people died.
Service on the Shinkansen superfast train in Kyushu was halted after one train derailed, and highways were closed after some sections collapsed. About 12,200 households were without electricity as of noon on Friday, according to Kyushu Electric Power, while about 58,000 lacked water.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said there were no irregularities at three nuclear plants on the southern major island of Kyushu and nearby Shikoku.
Honda Motor suspended output at its motorcycle factory near Kumamoto, a company spokesman said. Sony Corp, Mitsubishi Electric Corp and tyre-maker Bridgestone Corp also suspended operations at factories in the area.
AAP
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