A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck Japan’s central Ishikawa region, leaving at least one person dead and 21 injured.
The quake hit at 2:42 pm (0542 GMT) at a depth of 6 miles, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Some houses collapsed, and rescuers are still searching for another person trapped under the rubble.
No tsunami warning was issued, the country’s weather agency said.
The quake registered an upper six on the Japanese Shindo scale of up to seven near Suzu city, Ishikawa, prompting warnings it could cause major landslides.
Suzu is found on the northern tip of Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast, which sits around 180 miles from Tokyo.
Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters in the capital Tokyo that one person was reported dead and there were ‘multiple reports of collapsed buildings’.
The victim fell from a ladder, a crisis management official in Suzu told AFP news agency, adding that 21 other people had been injured.
The local fire and disaster management agency said at least three structures had been destroyed with two people trapped inside.
One had been pulled from the debris and sent to hospital and rescuers were searching for the other.
NHK footage showed traditional wooden houses destroyed or tilting with broken windows and damaged roofs. In aerial shots, a mountain slope can be seen collapsed.
Matsuno said the government had set up a disaster countermeasures office in a crisis management centre headed by the prime minister in response to the earthquake, adding that residents should watch out for further quakes.
Friday is a public holiday in Japan, part of a run of days off known as ‘Golden Week’, a time when many people travel for leisure or to visit family. (DailyMail)