Powerful earthquake took place in southern Japan early on Saturday, at least seven people lost their lives and many got injured.
That also triggred a huge landslide in a region, where nerves were already frayed after a series of powerful tremors over the past two days. The earthquake hit after another strong one on the southwestern island of Kyushu on Thursday that killed nine people, injured hundreds and caused widespread damage, as rescuers continued searching for trapped survivors.
Saturday’s earthquake has caused a lot of destruction as many buildings destroyed and collapsed in the hard-hit city of Kumamoto. According to reports at least 440 people were injured in the latest quake, while a government spokesperson said scores were trapped or buried alive.
NHK showed aerial footage of a landslide in the village of Minami Aso where massive mud flows and huge rocks slid down
a mountain into a valley, cutting off a highway and sweeping away houses and damaging buildings.
Authorities were evacuating patients from a hospital in hard-hit Kumamoto city over fears it could collapse after a wave of aftershocks shook the area. Authorities warned that houses weakened by the quake could fall down, while footage showed partially collapsed apartment building in Kumamoto.
The Japan Meteorological Agency, which put the magnitude at a revised 7.3, initially issued a tsunami warning for the western coast of Kyushu but later lifted it.
