Strong Quake Kills 2 Injures 45 in Japan

Strong Quake Kills 2 Injures 45 in Japan
Stranded people gather outside a town hall of Mashiki, after an earthquake in Kumamoto, southern Japan, Thursday, April 14, 2016. Kyodo News via AP
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TOKYO — At least two people were killed and 45 injured by a magnitude-6.5 earthquake that knocked down houses and buckled roads in southern Japan on Thursday night.

Both victims are from the hardest-hit town of Mashiki, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu, said Kumamoto prefecture disaster management official Takayuki Matsushita.

Earlier, Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital said it had admitted or treated 45 people, including five with serious injuries.

The quake struck at 9:26 p.m. at a depth of 11 kilometers (7 miles) near Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. There was no tsunami risk.