SRINAGAR: At least 13 people were killed after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s southwestern Kumamoto region on Tuesday, collapsing buildings, damaging roads and infrastructure, and leaving people trapped beneath rubble as rescue operations continued.
The earthquake hit the southern island of Kyushu at about 4.27 pm local time, causing widespread damage to buildings, roads, factories and other public facilities.
“Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race against time. We will marshal all available resources on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters on Wednesday.
Takaichi said on X that the earthquake had caused building collapses, road damage, fires and casualties. The government established an emergency task force at 6.20 pm and convened its first response meeting at 7.49 pm, she said.
The prime minister offered condolences to the families of those killed and said authorities were working to restore electricity and water supplies while addressing the risk of heatstroke among people staying in evacuation centres.
More than 9,000 people spent the night in evacuation centres as emergency crews searched for survivors.
Government spokesman Minoru Kihara said seven people had suffered serious injuries and 29 others had minor injuries. As of 7 am on Wednesday, 9,186 people were sheltering in 506 evacuation centres across five prefectures, including Kumamoto and Fukuoka.
The second floor of the Aeon Mall in Kashima Town collapsed, trapping several people, according to local fire officials. Video footage from the site showed an explosion at the shopping complex, with authorities investigating whether it was linked to a possible gas leak, the Associated Press reported.
Aeon Co. said the explosion occurred after customers and employees had left the mall. Prefectural police said about 200 people escaped before the blast. However, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said the collapse of the second floor raised concerns that more people could still be trapped. Kyodo News reported that a person who contacted a stranded employee was told several people were awaiting rescue.
At Nippon Paper Industries’ Yatsushiro factory, a collapsed chimney buried workers under debris. According to the AP, rescuers had recovered two survivors and two bodies by Wednesday morning, while seven people were still believed to be trapped.
Videos shared on social media showed the intensity of the tremors, including footage of a motorcycle and a car being thrown about on a bridge in Kashima Town. Other recordings showed buildings shaking violently and residents fleeing.
Hospitals in Yatsushiro and Kumamoto treated dozens of injured people, Kyodo News reported. Several major manufacturers temporarily suspended operations following the earthquake but reported no significant damage and planned to restart production on Wednesday.
The Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority said inspections had found no abnormalities at three nearby nuclear power plants.
Japan Meteorological Agency official Shinji Kiyomoto urged residents to remain vigilant, warning that strong aftershocks could occur over the following two to three days.
The latest disaster comes a decade after a powerful earthquake struck Kumamoto in 2016, killing at least 50 people.
