Earthquake hits Japan for the second time

A more powerful earthquake has rocked the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto in the middle of the night, after an earlier tremor killed nine people.

The magnitude-7.1 quake at a depth of 10km (6 miles) hit at 01:25 on Saturday (15:25 GMT on Friday), causing some damage but no casualties. A tsunami warning was issued, and lifted some 50 minutes later.
Japan is regularly hit by earthquakes but stringent building codes mean that they rarely cause significant damage.

There are fears that a number of people may be trapped in collapsed buildings after the new earthquake, in the Kyushu region of south-western Japan, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo.
It is difficult to tell which of the buildings were damaged in the new earthquake, our correspondent says, adding that a wider area has been hit.

Aftershocks are continuing to hit the area, making the job of rescuing people even harder, our Tokyo correspondent says. Japan's nuclear authority said the Sendai nuclear plant was not damaged.
The Associated Press news agency said guests at the Ark Hotel near the Kumamoto Castle, which was damaged, woke up and gathered in the lobby for safety.

credit: BBC