SECOND earthquake destroys homes on Japanese island of Kyushu

[Lodestar]

Source: DW

(Video at link)

At least nine people have died after a second earthquake hit Japan's southern island of Kyushu. Authorities report more than 800 injured - at least 53 seriously - and tens of thousands displaced on the island.
The 6.4-magnitude earthquake, thought to be one of the aftershocks of the earlier quake, struck at 0:03 a.m. local time on Friday (15:03 UTC).

Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that around 860 people were injured during the tremors, while tens of thousands of people were evacuated.

"As far as we can tell from infrared images from a police helicopter, there appears to be a significant number of houses destroyed or half-collapsed," Japanese Disaster Minister Taro Kono told the AFP news agency. "There are fears the number of injured could rise."

The quake reportedly brought down walls and a number of houses in the town of Mashiki, located some 900 kilometers (560 miles) southwest of Tokyo. An unknown number of people were trapped in the buildings and one of them was unconscious, according to NHK. Kyushu Electric Power said more than 16,000 households in and around Mashiki were without electricity.



Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/second-earthquake-destroys-homes-on-japanese-island-of-kyushu/a-19189666

[pugetres]

1. I've been so busy moving that I've not been watching

USGS like I normally do. I didn't hear about the earthquakes until late this evening.

The quakes in Japan aren't following the normal mainshock/aftershock pattern. Usually the strongest aftershock is 1.1 to 1.2 lower on the magnitude scale. Scary situation for Japan.