Japan has been hit by a 6.7 earthquake in the island of Hokkaido on Wednesday, just days after the country was left devastated by Typhoon Jebi.
The quake has already claimed at least eight people dead, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The earthquake registered a strong magnitude of 6.7 on Japan’s 7-point earthquake scale and battered Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido at 3.08 local time (7.08pm GMT).
The tremor’s epicentre was reported to be 42 miles south-east of Sapporo, Hokkaido’s largest city and struck at a depth of 24 miles.
The devastating earthquake has left the island’s 5.3 million people without power after the main power station of the Hokkaido Electic Power Company lost all operations, affecting other sites.
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The electricity company also conducted an emergency shutdown of all its fossil fuel-fired power plants following the quake, including the Tomari nuclear plant.
Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the company said: “The electric supply was stopped to Tomari nuclear plant, but it can operate without external electric supply for one week.”
A series of aftershocks have struck the island of Hokkaido – a total of six since the magnitude 6.6 quake.
The tremors have measured from magnitude 4.3 to 5.4 near the epicentre of Thursday morning’s major quake.
More than 4,000 defence force soldiers have been deployed to help with rescue operations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, and that number could rise to 25,000 if needed.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said aftershocks could pose a risk for the next week and buildings could collapse near the epicentre of the original quake.
The quake just comes days after Japan was hit by Typhoon Jebi – the strongest storm to hit Japan in 25 years.
The typhoon killed 10 people and injured 300, while high winds caused a tanker to smash into a bridge, which forced one of the country’s largest airports to close.
Helicopter rescue crews have been dispatched to the Japanese northern island and have airlifted around a dozen people to safety.
Evacuation shelters have been set up in many towns and cities around the region.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that flights and public transport across the region had been brought to a standstill.
Japan is situated on the “Ring of Fire” arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Basin.