At least 9 dead following strong earthquake in Japan


At least nine people are dead following a magnitude 6 earthquake that hit southwestern Japan on Thursday.
Local media reports that at least one person was crushed by a collapsing building, and at least 400 people are being treated at local hospitals. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck seven miles east of the city of Kumamoto, and the Nuclear Regulation Authority reports that there are no problems at three area power plants.
In Mashiki, a city near the epicenter, 16,500 households are without power, and residents are worried about more buildings collapsing. "The apartment building I live in is now tilting," one told NHK. "Everything fell down inside. It's a mess." As a precaution, some high-speed trains were taken out of service, and Honda, Bridgestone, and Mitsubishi Electric suspended operations at area factories.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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