International News

KUMAMOTO, Japan, (APP/AFP): Scores of people were feared
buried alive after a second powerful quake hit southern Japan Saturday, killing at least 18, and sparking collapses and fires, barely 24 hours after the first disaster struck.
Hillsides gave way as huge landslides swamped houses and severed
transport links, while fires engulfed several homes.
Buildings were reduced to rubble, including a university dormitory,
where at least two students died, with fears for the safety of dozens of other people over a large area.
“We are aware of multiple locations where people have been buried
alive,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
“Police, firefighters and Self Defense Force personnel are doing all they can to rescue them.”
A hospital was left teetering after the powerful quake, forcing the
evacuation of patients and further stretching the emergency response.
Isolated villages in the mountainous area of southern Kyushu island that was the focus of the quake were completely cut off by landslides and damage to roads, with at least 1,000 people believed trapped in one area alone.
The 7.0 magnitude quake came as emergency responders were working to reach areas already affected by a 6.2 magnitude tremor that struck late Thursday.
Adding to worries was the eruption of a nearby volcano, although
seismologists cautioned there was no evidence of a link and said activity was limited.