Two earthquakes hit southwestern Japan. They killed at least 9 people and injured hundreds more. More than 44,000 people evacuated to schools and community centres. Many people chose to spend the night outdoors despite the cold. They woke up to cracked roads and damaged houses.
The magnitude of the earthquakes was lower than that of the 2011 earthquake, but these earthquakes struck on land and not at sea. There was not a tsunami, either, which would take many more lives.
More than 3,000 soldiers, policemen and firemen are helping in the area. Experts warned that there might be smaller earthquakes.