13 dead after 7.1-magnitude quake rocks Japan; dozens trapped, thousands evacuated

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto in southwestern Japan, leaving 13 people dead. Rescue work continued into Wednesday as injuries, damage and large-scale evacuations mounted.

In Short

• Rescue teams continued overnight searches for people still missing by Wednesday
• Many others were injured as emergency operations continued across affected districts
• A shopping centre partly collapsed, reportedly triggered by a gas leak

At least 13 people were killed and several others remain missing after a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan's southwestern Kumamoto region, triggering building collapses, road damage and widespread power outages, as rescue teams continued an intensive search for survivors on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the death toll had risen from the three fatalities reported immediately after Tuesday's quake and warned that rescuers were racing against time to reach people trapped beneath collapsed structures.

"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," Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo.

The earthquake struck late Tuesday afternoon, with its epicentre located about 20 kilometres south of Kumamoto City on Japan's southern island of Kyushu. The powerful tremor caused widespread destruction, rupturing roads, knocking out electricity to tens of thousands of homes and disrupting transport and industrial operations across the region.

One of the worst-hit sites was a shopping mall, where part of the structure collapsed before an apparent explosion, suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, ripped through the building about an hour after the quake. Two women in their 20s were killed in the blast. Rescue workers pulled eight people alive from the rubble early Wednesday, while emergency teams, police and military personnel continued searching areas from where cries for help had been reported. Around 20 to 30 mall workers were initially unaccounted for, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Authorities are investigating whether a gas leak triggered the explosion.

Another major incident occurred at a Nippon Paper Industries factory, where a massive chimney collapsed, leaving seven people missing and four others seriously injured.

Hospitals across the affected region struggled to cope with the influx of casualties. A hospital in Uki city near the epicentre said a prolonged power outage had left it functioning like a field hospital, while another suspended new admissions after treating 86 injured people, including three in critical condition. Several passengers aboard high-speed trains also suffered injuries during the quake.

Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said around 260,000 people had been advised to evacuate, primarily in Kumamoto Prefecture and neighbouring Nagasaki Prefecture. Authorities also warned residents to remain alert for further strong aftershocks over the coming week and cautioned about an elevated risk of landslides.

More than 36,000 homes remained without electricity on Wednesday, raising concerns about heat-related illnesses as temperatures were forecast to reach around 34 degrees Celsius.

The earthquake also disrupted economic activity. Semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron and automaker Honda suspended operations at plants in the affected region through Wednesday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which evacuated workers from its local facility as a precaution, said it had begun gradually resuming operations late Tuesday.

Road infrastructure also suffered extensive damage, with major highways developing large cracks that snarled traffic across parts of Kyushu.

Japan, located along the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire", experiences around one-fifth of the world's earthquakes measuring magnitude 6.0 or higher. The latest disaster has revived memories of the devastating Kumamoto earthquakes in 2016, which claimed 275 lives, injured more than 2,700 people and caused extensive damage to homes and historic landmarks, including Kumamoto Castle.

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