Japan quake claims 41 lives as strong winds, heavy rain hampers rescue missions
TOKYO, April 17 (Xinhua) — A powerful magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck the island of Kyushu in southwestern Japan early Saturday just a day after a sizable foreshock hit the region, with the number of fatalities now standing at 41 according to the latest figures on Sunday.
Thousands of people have been injured as a result of the quakes and aftershocks which have been centered in and around Kumamoto Prefecture, and both the government and the weather agency here have warned Sunday that strong winds and heavy rain is expected to continue throughout the day and that further aftershocks and landslides are expected.
They said they adverse weather conditions are likely to compound an already disastrous situation, which has seen widespread devastation throughout the prefecture and beyond and expect injuries and fatalities to potentially increase, as scores still remain trapped beneath rubble and debris and unaccounted for.
More than 2,000 people have received treatment in hospital for injuries, public broadcaster NHK said Sunday following the quake, and about 90,000 people were evacuated to shelters overnight in hardest-hit Kumamoto Prefecture.
More than 1,700 houses were destroyed or partially damaged in the prefecture, including over 1,400 in the village of Nishihara, figures from prefectural officials show.
The M7.3 quake struck Kumamoto at a relatively shallow depth of about 12 kilometers at 1:25 a.m. on Saturday morning and registered upper 6 on Japan’s seismic scale which peaks at 7 and was the same ferocity as the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake which leveled Japan’s famous port city of Kobe.
The M7.3 quake on Saturday is now believed to be the main quake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), with an earlier M6.5 quake hitting on Thursday night, which registered a maximum 7 on the Japanese seismic scale in some areas, now believed to be one of the main quake’s foreshocks.
At a press conference on Sunday Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he is being updated constantly by rescue services and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and that they are continuing to “work tirelessly on life-saving and rescue activities as there are still people unaccounted for.”
“The victims spent a difficult night in shelters last night and we will make sure that enough food, medical care and water is made available,” the Japanese premiere said, adding that the government intends to improve the living conditions of the evacuees while ensuring their stay in emergency accommodation is not prolonged.
Abe also thanked the United States for their offer of help, but said at this point the situation did not require assistance from the U.S.