DUSHANBE, April 18, 2016, Asia-Plus -- Japan''s Kyushu region was struck by twin earthquakes, hampering the search for survivors and forcing nervous residents into crowded evacuation centers, international media outlets report.

CNN reported yesterday that according to Kumamoto Prefecture''s disaster management office, at least 32 people died in the latest Kyushu earthquake that occurred on April 16.  The magnitude-7.0 quake reportedly hit early Saturday.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the search for survivors amid piles of rubble as a “race against the clock,” noting that bad weather had conspired with the devastating quake, its aftershocks and the threat of landslides to make a dire situation worse.

In a Sunday morning press briefing, PM Abe said he received an offer of help from the U.S. military but it was not urgently needed yet.  Japan has deployed 25,000 self-defense forces to the rescue effort, Suga said.

At least 23 people are buried inside buildings, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, according to CNN .

Residents were already on edge after a 6.2. quake rattled the area on April 14, killing nine people. The combined death toll has reached 41.  The two earthquakes left 968 people injured, 184 of them are in serious condition, Japan’s disaster management office was quoted as saying by CNN .

Meanwhile RT reported on April 16 that 90,000 people have been evacuated from their homes to safer locations.

The quakes reportedly triggered massive landslides, which cut off roads and destroyed bridges.

Hours after the second deadly earthquake, the Japan Meteorological Agency recorded an eruption at Mount Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan.  The 1,592-meter volcano is nearly 30 minutes’ drive from the earthquakes epicenter, according to RT .  It is not yet clear if the volcano’s seismic activity is connected to the quakes.

Japan has suffered more than 230 aftershocks of at least level 1 on the Japanese scale since Thursday''s earthquake, Japan''s meteorological agency said Saturday.