May 6 (UPI) — Authorities in Japan warned residents Saturday to brace for aftershocks and heavy rain, one day after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake.
A magnitude 5.9 aftershock has already been recorded and more than 1,600 residents have been told to leave their homes over fears of possible landslides.
At least one person was killed and 35 injured Friday as a result of the initial earthquake, which hit on the Japanese island of Honshu. A 65-year-old man fell from a ladder in the city of Suzu.
Six buildings have collapsed so far, and more than 120 households are without water in Suzu, a city with a population of 14,700.
The governor of Ishikawa said he was requesting help from Japan’s central government to find housing chased from their homes by earthquake.
However, Suzu’s mayor said Saturday the city did not require the help of the federal government or military.
Three bullet trains were also forced to make emergency stops because of a power outage.
The Shika nuclear power plant in the nearby Ishikawa Prefecture remained operating normally Saturday, according to Japan’s nuclear regulator.
The initial earthquake was the largest since December 2020 to hit the area, which has been hit by a series of tremors since then.
