SRINAGAR: A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday, injuring at least 50 people, trapping several inside a partially collapsed shopping mall and causing widespread disruption across southern Japan, according to officials and media reports.
Fire officials said several people were trapped inside an Aeon shopping mall following a reported explosion after the earthquake. An Aeon spokesperson said all customers and staff had been evacuated immediately after the initial tremor, adding that the cause of the subsequent explosion was still unknown, according to Reuters.
Japanese broadcaster TBS reported that police feared “quite a few” people may have died, although authorities had not officially confirmed any fatalities.
The National Center for Seismology (NCS) said the earthquake struck at 12:57:22 IST. It measured the quake at magnitude 7.1, with its epicentre located at latitude 32.643°N and longitude 130.985°E at a depth of 70 kilometres.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said authorities were continuing to assess the extent of the damage.
“We have already been informed that people have been injured. Power outages and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings,” Takaichi told reporters.
She urged residents to move to safe locations and follow official evacuation instructions as emergency response teams continued rescue and relief operations.
