Quake devastates Japan

A major rescue effort is underway in southwestern Japan tonight - after a second powerful earthquake, in as many days. Dozens of people are feared trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. More than a dozen people have been killed.... after the 7-point-3 magnitude quake struck, near the city of Kumamoto, on the southern island of Kyushu. Experts have warned of more aftershocks.

Residents walk along collapsed houses in Mashiki, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan, Friday, April 15, 2016, after a magnitude-6.5 earthquake. (AAP) Source: AAP

A total of at least 41 people have been killed -  but many more are still thought to be trapped in homes or under torrents of mud.

This woman has taken shelter at an evacuation centre.

(Trans) "This is the first time I've experienced anything like this since I was born - I had to get the kids and run, everything was in slow motion - I noticed the plates smashed on the floor but I have no recollection of how they got there."

More than 60,000 households are without electricity, while nearly a quarter of a million people have been evacuated over safety concerns.

Rena Igarashi, from the Japanese Red Cross, says many survivors are now without access to basic amenities.

"Our priority is medical treatment, so today we have dispatched 23 emergency medical teams to the affected areas.The need there is definitely running water."