At least 13 people were killed and hundreds injured after a powerful earthquake struck southern Japan, damaging buildings, disrupting transport and cutting power and water to tens of thousands of households.
The 6.8-magnitude quake hit Kumamoto prefecture on Kyushu on Tuesday afternoon and reached the maximum level of 7 on Japan’s shindo seismic intensity scale.
“There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it’s a race against time,” the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said on Wednesday. “We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can.”
More than 9,000 people had taken refuge in evacuation centres by early Wednesday as emergency crews continued searching damaged areas.
“We have received reports of seven people with serious injuries and 29 with minor injuries. Furthermore, as of 7am today (22:00 GMT Tuesday), 9,186 people have sought refuge in 506 evacuation centres across five prefectures, including Kumamoto and Fukuoka,” government spokesman Minoru Kihara said.
Rescue teams were searching the wreckage of several sites, including a paper mill in Yatsushiro where a chimney collapsed. Two workers were taken to hospital in cardiac arrest, while nine others remained missing.
An explosion was also reported at an Aeon shopping mall shortly after the quake. Footage appeared to show part of the upper section of the building torn away and partially collapsed.
Two women in their 20s were confirmed dead, while another person reportedly suffered cardiac arrest.
An Aeon spokesperson said customers and employees were evacuated after the initial quake and the cause of the explosion remained unclear. A government official said the mall had reported a gas leak, although its cause had not been determined.
Japan’s military deployed 3,600 personnel and 20 aircraft to support relief operations and assess damage from the air. Hundreds of emergency workers from neighbouring prefectures also arrived in the affected areas.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that the strongest-hit areas could face further major tremors and landslides over the coming week.
More than 60 aftershocks had been recorded by Wednesday morning, ranging from magnitude 1 to 4. A tsunami warning issued after the quake was lifted within two hours.
Nearly 50,000 households were without electricity late Tuesday and around 140,000 had lost water supplies. Temperatures were forecast to exceed 35C on Wednesday, raising concerns over heatstroke among residents without air conditioning or reliable access to water.
Many people slept in their cars overnight because of fears of further aftershocks.
Despite the strength of the earthquake, relatively few buildings collapsed, limiting the number of casualties. Japan has strict earthquake-resistant construction standards that have been strengthened repeatedly in recent decades.
Takaichi said authorities were still assessing the full 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 said. “I ask everyone to take action to protect themselves, including evacuating to a safe location.”
By Wednesday morning, five houses had been confirmed collapsed and more than 350 people had been treated at hospitals. Some medical facilities were also affected by power and water outages and damage to equipment.
“People are coming in with burns and fractures from being trapped under objects due to the earthquake, and ambulances are constantly bringing in injured people,” NHK quoted one hospital employee as saying. “Inside the hospital there are water leaks and electrical system failures.”
Around 300,000 people were instructed to evacuate, according to the disaster management agency.
JR Kyushu suspended rail services, including bullet trains, while Kumamoto airport temporarily closed its runway, forcing airlines to cancel or divert flights.
KDDI and NTT Docomo reported mobile service disruption caused by power shortages and transmission failures. Japan’s nuclear regulator said no abnormalities had been reported at nuclear power stations in the region.
NHK footage showed buildings on fire or partially collapsed and large cracks across major roads, including an elevated highway. TSMC, Sony and Fujifilm evacuated workers from factories in the area.
Chiharu Hara, a 35-year-old recruitment agent in Kumamoto, told AFP she was “terrified” when the earthquake struck.
“The office swayed violently side to side. I was afraid it would collapse. Everyone panicked,” Hara said.
The epicentre was about 12 miles (20km) south of Kumamoto, the largest city in central Kyushu, with a population of about 700,000.
The US Geological Survey initially measured the quake at magnitude 7.1 before revising it to 6.8. The JMA recorded a magnitude of 7.1 and said the quake reached the maximum intensity of 7 on the shindo scale. A magnitude-6.1 aftershock followed at 5.08pm.
Japan’s Geospatial Information Authority said the earthquake shifted the Earth’s crust by 84cm in Yatsushiro and up to 40cm in Kumamoto city.
Japan lies along the Pacific “ring of fire” and is among the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, accounting for about 20% of earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher.
Kumamoto was struck by another major earthquake 10 years ago that killed 275 people and injured 2,739. Thousands of buildings were damaged, including Kumamoto Castle, where some stone walls were again damaged in the latest quake.
The disaster also revived memories of the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami in 2011, which left around 18,500 people dead or missing and triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
