Powerful Earthquake Sparks Panic and Devastation Among the Japanese

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Japan today, causing dozens of injuries, building collapses, and fires, while television reports indicated numerous fatalities in a damaged shopping center.

Relief agencies announced that many people were trapped inside a shopping mall in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, whose second floor collapsed, as police reported receiving calls about an explosion at the site.

The private TBS television network, citing an AFP report, stated that a large number of people had died in the shopping center. The 7.1-magnitude quake hit Kyushu island at 16:27 (07:27 GMT), registering the highest intensity on Japan’s seismic Shindo scale.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a televised address, “We are still assessing the extent of injuries and material damage, but I have been informed of several injuries so far,” adding that there were “power outages, fires in some areas, and damage to roads, bridges, and collapsed buildings.”

Shiharu Hara, a 35-year-old employee who was in Kumamoto Prefecture on a business trip, told AFP, “The shaking was very strong and lasted a long time. I was terrified.”

An employee of the public broadcaster NHK in the region, speaking half an hour after the quake, said, “The tremors were so strong I couldn’t stand,” adding, “It was really very strong, and the shaking continues as I speak to you.”

Japan’s nuclear regulatory authority confirmed that no anomalies had been recorded at nuclear facilities in the affected area.