TOKYO – A strong earthquake in Japan has killed at least three people, including a child, and injured more than 200.
Airports in Osaka were closed for several hours, train lines interrupted and factories had to halt production.
A nine-year old girl killed by a falling wall at her school was one of three confirmed fatalities.
An elderly man was also killed by a collapsing wall while another was trapped below a bookcase at home, national broadcaster NHK reported.
Frightening look at how the shaking appeared to an Osaka driver, via dashboard cam (and @Pt2oV): pic.twitter.com/WfJu3iBbSr
— Nippon.com (@nippon_en) June 18, 2018
Several people were trapped in elevators and roads were cracked with broken pipes spilling water.
Some 170,000 houses were left without power and gas supplies to more than 100,000 homes were stopped, the Japan Times reported.
The earthquake registered as 6.1 on the Japan’s quake scale, a level at which it is difficult to remain standing. The US Geological Survey measured it as magnitude 5.3.
The tremors also affected the prefectures of Kyoto, Nara, Hyogo, and Shiga.
Japan’s meteorological agency warned there could be another big earthquake in the coming days.
There are also warnings that rain and landslides will continue to pose a danger for several days.
On this day in 1960, Chile was hit by most powerful earthquake ever recorded
