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Completely flattened houses and rubble were scattered in Mashiki, Kumamoto prefecture on Friday, one day after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit southern Japan, killing at least nine people. (April 15) AP
This handout image taken from video footage released by the Kumamoto Prefectural Police on April 15, 2016 shows a rescue worker carrying an eight-month-old baby girl after she was pulled from the rubble following an earthquake in Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture.(Photo: STR, AFP/Getty Images)
For the second day in a row,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>powerful<span style="color: Red;">*</span>earthquake — measuring magnitude-7.0<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— rocked<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu, still<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reeling<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from another that killed 9 people and injured more than<span style="color: Red;">*</span>1,000.
Friday's earthquake was centered a half mile<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from Kumamoto, the capital city of the Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Mashiki, a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suburb of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Kumamoto, was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the worst-hit town in Thursday's quake, a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>magnitude-6.2.
Japanese broadcaster NHK said a number of calls were coming in from residents reporting people being trapped inside houses and buildings. Video showed a resident, apparently rescued from underneath a collapsed house, on a stretcher being taken to a hospital by ambulance.
Friday's quake was about<span style="color: Red;">*</span>6.3<span style="color: Red;">*</span>times bigger on a seismogram<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but 15.8 times stronger in its energy release<span style="color: Red;">*</span>than Thursday's temblor,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>according to the USGS.
About 5-10% of earthquakes are followed by a bigger one within a few days, said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Washington in Seattle. But magnitude-6 and larger quakes, especially so close to major cities, aren't common, he added.
"This one-two punch with a serious impact is fortunately quite rare," Vidale said.
Friday’s 7.0 earthquake occurred where two tectonic plates converge. The Philippine Sea plate is sliding under the Eurasia plate at a speed of about 2 inches a year,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>according to USGS.
Early Friday, rescuers pulled an eight-month-old baby girl from rubble in Mashiki after the magnitude-6.2<span style="color: Red;">*</span>quake struck the area at 9:26 p.m the previous night. Kyushu, with a population of around 13 million, has<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a subtropical<span style="color: Red;">*</span>climate and is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the southwesternmost of Japan’s main islands.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said over 140 aftershocks were recorded by Friday evening and warned more<span style="color: Red;">*</span>strong tremors could occur<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the coming days, Kyodo news agency reported.
More than 44,000 people sought shelter in schools and community centers after the quake hit Thursday, with some spending the night outdoors, Reuters reported.
USA TODAY
Powerful earthquake in Japan leaves 9 dead, hundreds injured
Buildings were damaged, highways crumbled and a bullet train was derailed by the quake, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported. It said no passengers were aboard the train and there were no injuries.
None of the nuclear power plants in the affected area reported damage, according to a statement released by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office.
In 2011, an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan, killing more than 16,000 people. About 2,500 remain missing.
Contributing: Kirk Spitzer
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