Rescue teams in south-western Japan are searching for survivors after a powerful earthquake struck Kyushu, killing at least 13 people and triggering more than 100 aftershocks, BBC News reported.
The quake hit Kumamoto prefecture at 16:27 local time on Tuesday, according to the report. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured it at magnitude 7.1, while the US Geological Survey later assessed it at 6.8. Its shallow epicentre was reported to be about 20km south of Kumamoto city.
Rescuers have been working through rubble at a paper factory and at Aeon Mall in Kashima, where part of the second floor collapsed and an explosion occurred within an hour of the quake. Aeon Mall president Akio Yoshida said three people were killed in the explosion. He also said four people from the mall were taken to hospital, one person had been rescued from a bathroom and another was in cardiac arrest.
NHK reported that at a factory in Yatsushiro City, two people were found with no signs of life and nine others were unaccounted for. In Japan, cardiac arrest and similar terms are often used in early reports before deaths are formally confirmed.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday that the rescue operation was “truly a race against time” and that more than 4,600 personnel had been deployed. Thousands of people are staying in evacuation centres, and many homes remain without electricity.
The Japan Meteorological Agency urged residents to remain alert for strong aftershocks. NHK reported that an agency official warned people to take particular care over the next two to three days, and for about a week overall, because further strong tremors were possible.
Officials also warned rescuers and residents to guard against heatstroke, with temperatures reaching about 35C. Defence Minister Shinjirō Koizumi said on X that around 300 air conditioning units would be sent to Kumamoto for distribution in badly affected areas.
Footage broadcast by NHK showed damaged roads and bridges, fires, debris in streets and collapsed buildings, including the worship hall of the 19th Century Yatsushiro Shrine. Train services were suspended after the quake.
Hiroko Ogata, 75, told the BBC she was at her restaurant in Yatsushiro City when the tremor hit and said she had never experienced such a large earthquake. American tourist Chantel Mohar, who was in Kumamoto with her family, told the BBC’s Newsday programme there was “a lot of rocking and confusion” after earthquake alerts sounded on passengers’ phones.
