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Japan earthquake: Thousands spend night in cold and wet Japan earthquake: Search for Kyushu survivors intensifies
(about 7 hours later)
Tens of thousands of people have spent a cold and wet night in temporary shelters following two powerful earthquakes that struck the south-west Japanese island of Kyushu. The search for survivors of two powerful earthquakes that struck the south-western Japanese island of Kyushu has intensified.
More than 240,000 people were urged to evacuate the area amid fears heavy rain could bring landslides and further damage, local media reported. Rescuers used improved weather on Sunday to fly helicopters to the worst-affected areas as tremors continued.
There is concern for dozens of people feared trapped under rubble. Concern is also growing for nearly 250,000 homeless people.
More than 40 people were killed in Thursday and Saturday's quakes. At least 41 people were killed in Thursday and Saturday's quakes and it is feared that dozens of people could still be trapped under rubble.
The BBC's Robin Brant says fears persist that another big quake may further damage houses already weakened.
About 2,000 people were treated for injuries and nearly 200 are said to be in a serious condition.About 2,000 people were treated for injuries and nearly 200 are said to be in a serious condition.
At the scene: Robin Brant, BBC News, Mashiki Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced that he will increase the number of troops participating in the rescue effort to 25,000 while accepting a US offer of air transportation in the rescue efforts.
It is raining, it is cold and there is no-one here: Mashiki is deserted. At the scene: BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
It is not safe to stay. Walk round for 30 seconds and you will see why - house after house has crumpled or shifted off its foundations. Across the valley from where I am standing in the small town of Minama, a huge landslide hundreds of metres long has severed a highway and buried part of the area.
They are mostly single-storey or small apartment blocks. One has a crushed camper van partially holding it up. Another has a balcony that has been forced forward and is now teetering dangerously over the road. Rescuers using earth-movers are now clearing away tonnes of mud and rock from around the half-buried houses. It's thought at least eight people are buried in the slide, although it could be more.
A handful of cars passed us, slowing to swerve around the roof tiles that lie shattered on the road after the front of one small house fell forward, like something out of a Charlie Chaplin movie. There has been heavy rain overnight and aftershocks are continuing to strike all the time.
Inside you can see furniture, exposed by the earthquake. There is a blue walking frame getting wet in the rain. In the badly hit town of Mashiki thousands of people spent a third night sleeping in evacuation centres, in their cars, or even in the open.
In pictures: Japan earthquake People here are very badly shaken. This part of Japan is not prone to large quakes. Everyone I have spoken to has said the same - they have never experienced anything like this in their lives.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe erlier admitted many people would be spending an uncomfortable night in evacuation centres, tented accommodation and even in their cars. The weather is now much improved from the wet and cold conditions of Saturday night, although electricity supplies remain erratic and many buildings still standing are not structurally sound.
But he said his government would work through the night to provide them with food, water and medical supplies. Firefighters have distributed tarpaulins to residents to cover damaged roofs, but in many deserted homes there was no-one to use them.
At least 50 people spent the night in their cars at a public park in the town of Ozu. Correspondents say that the indiscriminate nature of the destruction meant that some houses have been reduced to piles of debris while adjoining homes have been left standing, seemingly undamaged.
They included 62-year-old Yoshiaki Tanaka, his wife and 85-year-old mother. "I don't think we can go back [home]," he told the Associated Press. "Our life is in limbo". About 422,000 households are without water and 100,000 without electricity, the government said.
Mr Abe also warned that rescuers were in a "race against time" to find survivors before the bad weather wreaked more damage. Overnight rescue operations "would be extremely difficult", he said. One town badly affected by the two quakes was Mashiki, where few of the traditional style wooden houses remained intact,.
"I sleep in a car and stay in this tent during the day," Mashiki resident Seiya Takamori, 52, told the AFP news agency, pointing to a shelter made from a blue plastic sheet.
His neighbour Masanori Masuda, 59, said many houses were left standing after the first tremor, only to be significantly damaged in the second quake struck. As a result many occupants are without basic necessities.
"I need batteries to charge my mobile phone. Also, I need a toilet. I am afraid of going into the battered house, but I cannot help it. I take a bucket of water with me and have to use the toilet in the house," he said.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, attending a G20 event in Washington, said it was too soon to analyse the economic damage caused by the quake, but bank operations in Kumamoto were still functioning normally.
Saturday's magnitude-7.3 quake struck at 01:25 (15:25 GMT on Friday) close to the city of Kumamoto, which had been hit by a magnitude-6.4 quake on Thursday night.Saturday's magnitude-7.3 quake struck at 01:25 (15:25 GMT on Friday) close to the city of Kumamoto, which had been hit by a magnitude-6.4 quake on Thursday night.
Both quakes were shallow, causing huge damage to roads, bridges, tunnels, homes and buildings. Both quakes were shallow, causing huge damage to roads, bridges, tunnels, homes and buildings. Big landslides cut off remote mountain villages.
Big landslides cut off remote mountain villages. Some 100,000 households were without power and around 400,000 homes without water.
There were many reports of people trapped inside buildings. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said rescue workers were aware of "multiple locations where people have been buried alive".
One village had to be evacuated after a dam collapsed as a result of the quake.
Some 20,000 troops were deployed to help police and firefighters in the rescue effort.
As night-time - and the bad weather - approached, they handed out tarpaulins, along with food and water, at distribution points. Local shops quickly ran out of stock, and people spoke of their fear of running out of food, the AP reports.
Aftershocks continue to be felt.
Analysis: Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent
Japan is one of the most seismically active areas on Earth, accounting for about 20% of global quakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater. Seismometers are recording some kind of event every five minutes, on average.
It is through bitter experience that Japan has learnt the strategies to mitigate damage, injury and death. Not only does it implement some the best building construction practices but it has also established an early warning network.
This system relies on the lightning analysis of the developing quake, establishing its location and strength. Alerts are then broadcast that can give people more distant from the epicentre vital seconds' notice.
Just 10 seconds is more than sufficient to drop and get under a sturdy table or open the doors of a fire station.
The prospect of buildings already damaged in Thursday's quake toppling over in this latest tremor will be a concern.
Are you in south-west Japan? Have you, or has someone you know, been affected by the earthquake? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experiences.Are you in south-west Japan? Have you, or has someone you know, been affected by the earthquake? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experiences.
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