Japan: 3 Dead & 200 Injured After 6.1 Magnitude Earthquake Shook Osaka
Three people have been killed after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Osaka prefecture, in western Japan earlier this morning. The earthquake has destroyed many buildings and caused many injuries, the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency has reported that 214 people have been treated in hospitals, with the majority of them in Osaka city.
Nine-year-old Rina Miyake was among the three reported deaths, and died when a concrete wall fell on her whilst she was walking to her primary school in Takatsuki, Osaka. A man in his 80’s died after a concrete wall in Osaka city fell on him, and an 84-year-old male died after a bookshelf fell on him at home in Ibaraki. Japan’s national public broadcasting organization, NHK, showed footage of the toppled wall, which was painted trees and flowers against a blue sky.
The earthquake measured 8.1 on the Richter scale, and is the highest earthquake to hit Osaka in decades. The Japan Meteorological Agency said that the earthquake struck at 8 am local time at a depth of approximately 8 miles (13 kilometers). North Osaka was the hardest-hit location, but the earthquake was also felt across large areas of western Japan, including Kyoto.
