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Earthquake topples houses in southern Japan | Earthquake topples houses in southern Japan |
(about 2 hours later) | |
An earthquake has struck southern Japan, injuring several people seriously and possibly leaving others trapped beneath collapsed houses, authorities say. | |
No tsunami warning was issued after the magnitude 6.4 quake. | |
It struck at 21:26 (12:26 GMT) east of Kumamoto city, on the island of Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency says. | |
The two Sendai nuclear reactors on Kyushu are reported to be operating as normal. | |
The three Genkai nuclear reactors still in operation on the island were already closed for routine inspection. | |
The quake struck at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles) and was followed by aftershocks measuring 5.7 about 40 minutes later and 6.4 just after midnight local time. | |
But Japan's seismology office recorded the shaking at some places to be as intense as the huge magnitude 9 earthquake that hit the country in 2011. | |
That triggered a tsunami in a double disaster that left more than 18,000 people dead or missing and led to meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. | |
"The shaking was so violent I couldn't stand still," Hironobu Kosaki, a local police official, told AP news agency. | |
About 40 people were being treated at a hospital in Kumamoto city, with several seriously injured, reports said. | |
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at least 19 houses had collapsed and officials were still assessing the extent of the damage. | |
About 16,000 homes were without electricity and 38,000 were without gas, Japanese media reported. | |
The BBC's Japan Correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says the quake took place at a time when most people were at home. | |
The authorities said the shaking was most severe in the town of Mashiki, 15km (nine miles) east of Kumamoto. | |
Residents said houses and walls had collapsed and the water supply had been cut off. | |
Japanese state broadcaster NHK said a fire had broken out in the town and also reported (in Japanese) that one woman had been found unconscious in a serious condition under a collapsed building. | |
An official in the nearby city of Uki said houses there had also collapsed as well as part of the city hall's ceiling. | |
Some train services were suspended as a precautionary measure. | Some train services were suspended as a precautionary measure. |
Japan is regularly struck by earthquakes but stringent building codes mean that damage usually does not occur. | Japan is regularly struck by earthquakes but stringent building codes mean that damage usually does not occur. |