A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck the southern end of Japan's main Kyushu island at 4:27 p.m. local time (2:27 a.m. Eastern), triggering a brief tsunami alert and causing significant damage across the region. While the Japan Meteorological Agency recorded the temblor at a 7.1 magnitude and noted it reached the highest possible level of 7 on Japan's Shindo scale of shaking, the U.S. Geological Survey measured the event at 6.8. The quake is one of hundreds that strike Japan every year, though the vast majority typically cause little damage.
Emergency services and local authorities have been working to rescue people from damaged structures. According to the public broadcaster NHK, at least 50 people were transported to hospitals. In Kashima city, emergency teams successfully rescued five individuals from the Aeon Mall, though nine people remain unaccounted for at the site. Police in the city earlier told the Japanese partner network TBS that there were "a lot of deaths" in the mall, but cautioned that it would "take time to confirm the exact number." Police also reported receiving accounts of what sounded like an explosion at the Aeon Mall, though they did not publicly confirm the report of multiple fatalities.
In Kumamoto prefecture, 11 people were trapped inside the Nippon Paper Industries Yatsushiro Plant after a chimney collapsed during the quake. Two of those individuals were rescued but were found without vital signs, according to NHK. The disaster has caused widespread infrastructure damage, including cracked roads, damaged bridges, and the derailment of a cargo train. Video footage aired by NHK showed several blazes across the area. At least 12 houses have collapsed, and the national Kyodo news agency reported that one person was killed in a damaged home.
Approximately 45,000 households and facilities in the Kumamoto region are currently without power, according to the local utility Kyushu Electric Power. The firm confirmed that three nuclear reactors operating in the region at the time were functioning normally. Furthermore, the Nuclear Regulation Authority stated that no immediate abnormalities were recorded at any nuclear power plants.
Government official Takaichi stated that authorities are currently assessing the full scale of injuries and property damage. "We are still assessing the extent of injuries and property damage, but I have been informed that there have already been several injuries," Takaichi said. "Power outages and fires are happening in some areas, and roads and bridges have been damaged and buildings collapsed." The Japan Meteorological Agency initially issued an alert for a possible tsunami of up to three feet, but the warning was withdrawn after a couple of hours.
The region remains on high alert, with reports from local NHK staff describing continuing tremors nearly half an hour after the initial quake. One staffer, wearing a helmet and reporting live on air, noted that the newsroom was rocking so violently that it was difficult to remain standing. "Shaking is continuing as I speak. Including myself, there may be some people who feel their hearts racing," the staffer said. "When the quake struck, the shaking was so big that I could not stand up. Please be aware of possibility that shaking might continue after this."
Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire." The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, accounts for about 18% of the world's earthquakes. The nation is still haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant. More recently, Kumamoto was hit by two devastating earthquakes in 2016—one of magnitude 6.5, followed two days later by one of magnitude 7.3—which killed 273 people and injured more than 2,800. A tremor measuring 7.7 also hit the country's north on April 20 this year, injuring at least 10 people, and a 7.2 magnitude quake hit northern Japan on June 25, though that event caused no deaths or major damage.
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of jolts every year and accounts for about 18% of the world's earthquakes. The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth's surface at which they strike.
That prompted authorities to issue a special advisory warning of an increased risk of earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or stronger.
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