Roundup: Japan's southwest rocked again by major quake, emergency services gear up for casualties

Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan was rattled again by a magnitude-7.2 earthquake early on Saturday.

The quake struck at 01:25 local time, with the temblor being felt across wide swathes of southern Japan and triggering a tsunami warning although the advisory was soon lifted.

Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially issued the warning just two minutes after the quake struck, saying waves of up to one meter could hit the coast of Japan, with the advisory given for both the Ariake and Yatsushiro sea areas.

The weather agency, however, subsequently lifted the warning, according to public broadcaster NHK, although more aftershocks are expected as well as possible landslides and buildings collapsing as inclement weather is expected overnight and through the weekend.

Regarding the possibility of further quakes and aftershocks, the JMA has advised enhanced vigilance from the public, particularly in hilly areas where mudslides are highly possible.

In the town of Mashiki, home to more than 32,600 people in Kumamoto Prefecture, in southern Kyushu, the epicenter of the previous major quake on Friday, which was logged at an intensity of 7, the National Police Agency on Saturday said local emergency services had been inundated with calls following further reports of buildings collapsing in the region.

They said rescue services were bracing for more casualties.

Xinhua reporters in Mashiki have been feeling aftershocks hitting regularly and there was widespread panic in the town with people seen flee from buildings to open areas, with some ducking into vehicles for protection.

The town being plunged into darkness following a power cut is adding to the alarm.

The latest quake, following hundreds of aftershocks in the wake of quakes striking overnight a day earlier and claiming the lives of nine people and injuring more than 1,000, in Kumamoto, measured in the upper six range of Japan's seismic scale which peaks at 7, the JMA said.

The quake struck at a latitude of 32.8 degrees north and longitude of 130.8 degrees east.

As with the previous major quake, the epicenter was relatively shallow at a depth of just 10 km.

The number of fatalities and injuries, as yet, has been unreported by prefectural officials and rescue services in the quake-hit region.

Chinese diplomats have been assigned to the quake-affected areas, seeing students from China.

Whether or not Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's planned trip to the already quake-ravaged region, scheduled for Saturday, will go ahead as planned, has yet to be confirmed by his office.

Following the latest quake, large sections along major arterial routes and expressways have been closed off, the traffic information center said. Enditem