Death Toll Rises From Japan’s Earthquakes, Mysterious Foam Floods The Streets

Japan was hit with two major earthquakes this week. The second hit the Kumamoto region on Saturday morning, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1. This was just 24 hours after a smaller quake hit the same region and killed nine people, while injuring 800 people.

The YouTube video above shows the extent of damage that both earthquakes wrought on Japan’s Kumamoto region. As you can see, many homes have collapsed. Kumamoto resident Gary Irwin told the BBC about other damage: “A lot of people are saying to me today that they don’t know whether they’re going to sleep in their cars tonight, or if they can go home,” he said. Irwin ended up sleeping in his car, because his local evacuation area had no electricity.

Amid all the death and destruction, a mysterious foam filled the streets of Fukuoka, a city in the area affected by the earthquakes. According to Mashable, the bubbly substance may have been from an underground pipe that had burst.

Here is a picture of the foam:

Rescuers are now racing to find survivors who may be trapped in fallen buildings ahead of forecasts of heavy rain and cold, the BBC reports. The death toll has now risen to 32.

(via BBC, Mashable and BBC)