Earthquake in South Japan - part 2

A second heavy earthquake has struck Kyushu island early Saturday morning, leading to more deaths. Below is an analysis of the earthquakes from the first 84 hours following the initial Thursday evening earthquake, along with an overview of the effects, combined with strong wind damages, and the earthquake in Ecuador.

How to help: Kumamoto quake info: where to go, how to help

Bridge collapse shows scale of Japan quake

Shindou	1	2	3	4	5-	5+	6-	6+	7	Total
2≤M<3	0	1	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	19
3≤M<4	0	6	92	26	0	0	0	0	0	124
4≤M<5	0	0	14	41	2	0	0	0	0	57
5≤M<6	0	0	0	2	4	2	2	1	0	11
6≤M<7	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	4
7≤M<8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Total	0	7	124	69	6	2	4	4	1	217

For further analysis only earthquakes on Kyushu island were taken into account, and shindou (shaking intensity) 5- and 6- were counted as 5.0 and 6.0 whereas 5+ and 6+ were counted as 5.5 and 6.6 respectively. 

Two quakes turn hills into deadly cascades of mud “I never expected the second one because the electricity was back on and there were cars on the roads. I was totally off guard.” “The radio and television keep saying it could happen again,” he said. “My house is barely standing now, but if another one comes it may completely collapse. So I just cannot go home.”

Desperate race on to find Kyushu earthquake survivors; death toll at 42

The number of evacuees, which hit 196,000 at the peak Sunday, fell to about 110,000 as many people went back to their homes later in the day. About 250,000 households were without water and 100,000 without gas in Kumamoto Prefecture as of Sunday evening. As of 9 p.m., some 39,000 households were without power. Saturday’s 7.3-magnitude temblor killed at least 33 people and injured about 1,000 more, while causing widespread damage to houses, roads and bridges.

NHK showed footage of people being rescued by helicopters after they were stranded by a collapsed bridge. Self-Defense Forces troops set up tents for evacuees as water trucks were sent to the area. The government said about 190 of those injured in Saturday’s quake were in serious condition. The USGS estimated there is a 72 percent likelihood that economic damage will exceed $10 billion, adding that it was too early to be specific. Major insurers have yet to release estimates. Electronics giant Sony Corp. said a plant producing image sensors for smartphone makers would remain closed while it assessed the damage from the quakes. One of its major customers is Apple, who uses the sensors in its iPhones.

Rescue workers search for survivors in quake-hit Kyushu; 11 missing

2,000 personnel comprising members of the Self-Defense Forces, police and firefighters searched for those still missing as the first 72-hours after the quake, considered a crucial period for finding survivors, neared. The prefectural government put the number of those missing at 11. The total death toll from the wave of temblors that began on Thursday has climbed to 42, 33 of them in the quakes that struck on Saturday.

Many shelters in Kumamoto see crunch in food supplies, while shelves at supermarkets and convenience stores in downtowns stood empty as they ran out of food and other items amid severed supply chains and distribution channels. The Japan Tourism Agency said it has secured rooms at hotels and inns in Kumamoto as shelters to accept up to 1,500 evacuees currently staying at shelters. Elderly people and the disabled are able to apply for the rooms while accommodation cost and meals will be shouldered by the central and prefectural governments.

The first major quake with a magnitude of 6.5 hit Kumamoto at 9:26 p.m. Thursday, which was later described by the Japan Meteorological Agency as a foreshock to the more powerful M7.3 quake that rocked the region at 1:25 a.m. Saturday. In Kumamoto, more than 400,000 households experienced blackouts, said Kyushu Electric Power Co, adding that the figure fell to 39,000 as of Sunday evening. Around 100,000 homes are still without gas, according to Saibu Gas Co, while about 250,000 homes are cut off the water supply.

The rescue operations were greatly hampered by a storm passing over Japan, featuring strong winds and also leading to deaths:2 dead, more than 50 injured by strong winds across Japan

• In Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, a 66-year-old man died after falling over in the wind and striking his head, while another six people were injured.
• In neighboring Toyama Prefecture, a 62-year-old man also died after striking his head in a fall and 12 people suffered wind-related injuries.
• In Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, at least 29 people were injured including a 71-year-old women in Kawasaki who broke her leg when blown over.
• In Kagawa Prefecture, western Japan, two women, aged 69 and 68, were injured when bullpen netting weighing 300 kilograms fell towards them amid strong winds as they were watching a local junior high school baseball game in the town of Miki.
• In Jouetsu, Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, where three people were injured, at least 40 housing and apartment buildings had their roofs blown away or windows shattered by powerful gusts of wind.
• No one was injured when, during a university boat race on the Sumida River in Chuo Ward, one boat capsized and another sank.

In the mean time, the ring of fire triggered another far more deadly earthquake on the other side of the globe: Ecuador earthquake: Deaths rise to 235

At least 235 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1,500 people injured after Ecuador was hit by its most powerful earthquake in decades. Some 10,000 troops and 3,500 police are being deployed in the affected areas, as rescue operations continue. The magnitude-7.8 quake struck on Saturday evening. David Rothery, a professor of geosciences at The Open University, said Ecuador's quake was about six times as powerful as the earthquake that struck southern Japan on Saturday.