Earthquakes in Japan

A series of earthquakes struck near the city of Kumamoto on Japan’s southernmost main island of Kyushu, killing 48 people, seriously injuring 263 people and destroying 1,527 houses. The first earthquake, on April 14, measured 6.4 on the Richter scale, and the second, measuring 7.4, struck the next day. 

The quakes collapsed commercial buildings and elevated roadways and left tens of thousands of homes without power or water, but nearby nuclear reactors were undamaged. In Chūō-ku, Kumamoto, one wall of Kumamoto Castle, parts of which date to the 17th century, was destroyed.