Dashcam video shows a passenger bus shaking at the moment a powerful earthquake hit Kumamoto on 14 April. The bus had stopped at a red light when the earthquake struck. The cars driver, Yoshinari Aoki, who filmed it on his dashboard camera, can be heard expressing his surprise at the strength of the quake.

The first earthquake was followed by a second powerful shake early on 15 April, and both resulting in the death of at least nine people and injuring hundreds, local media said. The initial tremor, with a magnitude of 6.0, struck 7 miles (11km) east of the city of Kumamoto, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), at around 9.30pm local time. Another 6.4-magnitude quake hit the same place slightly after 12.00am.

While the magnitude was much lower than that of the 11 March 2011 quake that generated a massive tsunami and subsequent nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, the intensity was similar because the quake struck on land and at a much shallower depth.

More than 3,000 troops, police and firemen were dispatched to the area from around Japan, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said more would be sent if needed.