Japan quake: Filipinos safe, says PH ambassador

KYUSHU QUAKE Residents walk through debris following a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Mashiki town, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on April 15, 2016. Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Filipino community in Kumamoto Prefecture are safe, following the magnitude 6.5 quake that rocked southern Japan, the Philippine envoy to the country said on Friday, April 15.

"As of now, there are no reports of injured Filipinos in Japan," Ambassador Manuel Lopez said in an interview on ANC.

Lopez said a Filipino man was trapped under an automobile but had been rescued.

"So far, only one Filipino was affected but he is out of danger and is okay," he said.

Lopez said that the Philippine consulate in Osaka is in touch with leaders of the Filipino community in Kumamoto Prefecture in the southwestern island of Kyushu.

He said Kumamato hosts an estimated 1,600 Filipinos mostly married to locals.

Lopez said that the local government advised the residents to remain outdoors for the meantime because of the aftershocks, and had set up evacuation sites.

At least 9 people were killed in the quake, which toppled homes, sparked fires and injured hundreds, officials said. – Rappler.com