At least 13 people were killed when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday, injuring hundreds and knocking out power and water to tens of thousands. The quake, which hit Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu, registered a maximum 7 on the Japanese shindo intensity scale.
Rescue efforts under way
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday: "There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it's a race against time. We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can." The government mobilised 3,600 military personnel for disaster relief operations and sent 20 aircraft to assess damage from the air, according to the defence minister.
Rescue crews sifted through wreckage at key sites, including a paper mill in Yatsushiro where a chimney collapsed. Two workers were found and taken to hospital in a state of cardiac arrest, with nine others missing. An explosion was reported at an Aeon shopping mall in Kumamoto shortly after the earthquake; two women in their 20s were confirmed dead. An Aeon spokesperson said customers and employees were evacuated after the initial quake, and the cause of the explosion remained unclear. A government official reported a gas leak at the mall.
Damage and casualties
Government spokesman Minoru Kihara said: "We have received reports of seven people with serious injuries and 29 with minor injuries. Furthermore, as of 7:00 am today (2200 GMT Tuesday), 9,186 people have sought refuge in 506 evacuation centres across five prefectures, including Kumamoto and Fukuoka." By Wednesday morning, five houses had been confirmed collapsed. More than 350 people had been treated at local hospitals, many of which were affected by power and water outages and damage to medical equipment.
NHK quoted one hospital employee as saying: "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. Inside the hospital there are water leaks and electrical system failures."
Aftershocks and warnings
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned that areas with the biggest tremors would remain at risk of further strong quakes and landslides for about a week. By Wednesday morning, more than 60 aftershocks had been recorded, ranging from magnitude 1 to 4. A tsunami warning was issued immediately after the quake but was lifted within two hours.
Nearly 50,000 households were without power late on Tuesday, along with 140,000 without water. Temperatures in the region were forecast to top 35°C on Wednesday, with high humidity increasing the risk of heatstroke. Large numbers of people slept in their cars overnight out of fear of aftershocks.
Infrastructure and response
JR Kyushu suspended services, including high-speed bullet trains. Kumamoto airport shut its runway as airlines diverted and cancelled flights. Telecoms operators KDDI and NTT Docomo reported disruption to mobile phone services due to power shortages and transmission-line failures. No irregularities were reported at nuclear power stations in the area, according to Japan's nuclear regulation authority.
TSMC, Sony, and Fujifilm evacuated workers from their factories in the area. The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan reported that the Earth's crust had moved 84 cm in Yatsushiro city and up to 40 cm in Kumamoto city.
Historical context
Japan, located along the Pacific "ring of fire," is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. The country accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher. An earthquake in Kumamoto 10 years ago killed 275 people and injured 2,739. Some stone walls of Kumamoto Castle were damaged in the latest quake. Japan is also haunted by the 2011 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami that left around 18,500 dead or missing and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.
