Thousands of people in Japan have spent the night outdoors in temporary shelters after two powerful earthquakes struck the south west of the country.
Nearly 250,000 people were told to evacuate their homes over fears of further earthquakes and heavy rain which could trigger landslides and cause further damage.
It is feared that rainfall hitting soil loosened by the quake could set off further mudslides in isolated rural towns, where people in collapsed homes are waiting to be rescued.
More than 40 people have been killed in the two earthquakes, which began on Thursday.
Image: Local residents wait in line for food and goods at a distribution center in Mashiki, Kumamoto prefecture, southwestern Japan. Koji Ueda / AP/Press Association Images
Speaking on Saturday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said "it's a race against time" to find people who they believed to be trapped in the rubble.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said 25,000 self-defense forces had been deployed to help with the rescue effort, while the United States had also offered to send troops to assist, but they were not yet needed.
David Cameron also took to Twitter in a message of support, promising that the UK is "ready to do what it can" to support the country.
PM: Deeply saddened by news of a second earthquake in #Japan. UK ready to do what it can to support Japan’s response in #Kumamoto.
— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) 16 April 2016
Via CNN
