Another big earthquake hits Japan
After a deadly Thursday quake that resulted to the deaths of at least nine people, Japan's Kyushu Island was again hit with another one on Saturday, but this time, the damage was far worse with reports coming in that 41 people are already confirmed dead with more than a thousand reported injuries.
The 7.0 magnitude quake rocked the southern part of the island on the morning of Saturday, just two days after a 6.2 quake damaged property and homes on Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning. The epicenter of Saturday's quake was Kumamoto Prefecture, which is several miles from the first quake.
Just as the country is getting back on its feet after a devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, followed by the Fukushima earthquake, another one hit them hard. Although there was no tsunami this time, several communities were overwhelmed, with scores of people still stranded and trapped in a mountain resort and some collapsed buildings.
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According to several sources from the local media, there are at least 200,000 homes that don't have power while double that number are those who don't have access to running water. A very unfortunate sight was the badly damaged 17th century Kumamoto Castle. Roads were split and houses were flattened nearby. According to the Associated Press, there should be at least a thousand buildings that have been damaged to a point that they no longer can be repaired.
BBC reports that because of the second and stronger tremor yesterday, the rescue efforts intended for the victims of Thursday's quake have been hindered, which means that more people are going to be waiting a little longer for help to arrive.
As mentioned earlier, the government issued a tsunami advisory in some areas in the island, but no similar warning was issued for other prone countries, including Hawaii in the U.S.
