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Deadly Earthquake Hits Western Japan

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Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake and tsunami observations division director Toshiyuki Matsumori points at graphs of ground motion waveform data observed in Japan during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, September 3, 2017.
Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake and tsunami observations division director Toshiyuki Matsumori points at graphs of ground motion waveform data observed in Japan during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, September 3, 2017.

At least three people are dead and 90 others are injured after a strong earthquake struck western Japan Monday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the magnitude 6.1 quake struck just north of the country's second-largest city of Osaka around 8 a.m. local time, just as commuters were beginning the rush hour to work. Train service was halted after reports of damage in several stations.

The quake collapsed walls and triggered water main breaks and building fires. Japanese news outlets say a 9-year-old girl and an 80-year old man were killed when they were buried under collapsed walls. An 84-year old man died when he war trapped under a fallen bookcase in his home.

No tsunami warning was issued after Monday's quake, which struck seven years after a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami killed thousands of people and triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant in northwestern Japan.

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