Japan faces typhoon season with Jebi leaving at least 11 people dead and more than 450 injured in the Kansai region. Jebi was the biggest typhoon to make landfall in 25 years according to Express UK. Now, in the early hours of Thursday, at around 3 AM local time, a double whammy by mother nature saw Hokkaido island rocked by an earthquake.

CNN reported that it was given a preliminary magnitude rating of 6.7. So far, the city of Sapporo seems to be the hardest hit in terms of injuries reported at around 20 people. The earthquake was 112 km southeast of the high-population city.

Meanwhile, at least 20 residents cannot be accounted for in the town of Atsuma.

Earthquake trapped people inside buildings

According to Japanese media, police noted there were reports of people trapped inside collapsed buildings. The Meteorological Agency of Japan later recorded several large aftershocks, with one reportedly at 5.4 magnitude. Loss of electricity in northern regions seemed to be widespread, but while the internet was up, people made sure to tweet their safety to loved ones and check in with family. The Hokkaido Electric Power Company advised that close to three million homes lost power.

Japan northern region lost power

SNA Japan tweeted, "Hokkaido Earthquake: The power outage is spread across all of Hokkaido, leaving just short of 3 million homes and buildings without electricity.

It remains unclear when power will be restored. They also posted that Shin-Chitose Airport was closed and 200 flights were cancelled, affecting thousands of people.

Other people posted about the earthquake as well.

@MityCow shared that earthquakes in the northern region around Sapporo are not as common as where they are in the west. They also suggested that the western areas are better prepared in terms of building safety. "Looks like Hokkaido got hit by an earthquake. Since they aren't used to having quakes there, the damage was massive," they wrote.

Meanwhile, Andri Ete News shared the news that the earthquake triggered landslides that buried buildings. Extensive areas in the hilly areas show the trees that slipped down the slopes, scarring the hills with mud.

Typhoon and earthquake see Twitter flooded with messages and prayers

One of the most telling tweets came from BABYG4 who wrote, "Good morning Grandpa, I heard about the big earthquake in Hokkaido I hope grandpa and your friend are all safe."

From around the world, many people tweeted their thoughts and prayers for the country.

But seeing the local tweets brings home the reality the people in Japan have to deal with. Thousands of military personnel were deployed to help with cleanup and rescue efforts. Japan is a highly populated, but relatively small country. Concern for the victims of the Typhoon Jebi and the double whammy earthquake in the north is high. Stay up to date with more news from across the world with Blasting Pop.
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