Japan was reportedly struck by an earthquake near the Amakusa area, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on Wednesday. The agency issued an earthquake early warning for Kumamoto Prefecture following the tremor.
Additional details on the magnitude, depth and impact of the earthquake are awaited. The fresh tremor comes after Japan was hit by a powerful quake in Kumamoto prefecture on Kyushu island at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT) on Tuesday.
The calamity has claimed the lives of at least 13 people, with rescue teams searching for survivors underneath collapsed buildings.
Emergency earthquake alerts were also sent out across several prefectures on the island, including Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita and Miyazaki, urging residents to take precautions.
Further many individuals were also said to be in "cardiopulmonary arrest" - a term often used in preliminary reports in Japan before a death is officially confirmed.
Rescue teams continue to search the rubble of Aeon shopping mall and a paper factory after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Kyushu island on Tuesday.
The country has suffered over 100 aftershocks on Wednesday, and the JPA has warned residents of more in the coming days. The agency had measured the initial earthquake as having a magnitude of 7.1, which the US Geological Survey later measured as a 6.8.
Kumamoto, where the Aeon Mall collapsed, is a city on the Kyushu island of Japan. The southern island of Kyushu is the third-largest of the four main islands in Japan, and the second most populous.
Earthquakes are not an uncommon phenomenon in the area.A devastating series of quakes claimed a total of 278 lives in 2016 in Kumamoto and neighbouring Oita prefecture, as per Japan's public broadcaster NHK.
ALSO READ: Earthquake Today: Magnitude of 7.1 Quake Hits Japan, Tsunami Warning Issued
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