Dozens killed in powerful earthquake that struck Japan
Tokyo – Agencies: A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Japan yesterday, causing dozens of injuries, collapsing buildings, and sparking 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. Private television network TBS announced that a “large number” of people had died in the shopping center, although local police stated they could not currently confirm any fatalities.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Kyushu island, reaching the highest intensity on Japan’s seismic Shindo scale, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The agency issued a tsunami warning, which was lifted less than two hours later. Television broadcasts showed partially destroyed bridges, collapsed buildings, and overturned freight train cars.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated 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.” She noted “power outages and fires in some areas, as well as damage to roads and bridges and collapsed buildings.”
Meanwhile, NHK announced that at least 50 people had been transported to hospitals, also noting the collapse of 12 homes near the city of Yatsushiro. The agency overseeing Japan’s nuclear sector confirmed that no anomalies had been recorded at nuclear facilities in the area at present. Local power company Kyushu Electric Power reported that electricity had been cut off to approximately 45,000 homes and facilities in Kumamoto Prefecture, adding that the three nuclear reactors in the region continued to operate normally.
Kumamoto Prefecture was hit by two devastating earthquakes in 2016: a 6.5-magnitude quake followed two days later by a 7.3-magnitude tremor, which resulted in 273 deaths and 2,800 injuries. On June 25, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan without causing fatalities or major damage.
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, located at the intersection of four major tectonic plates on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire.” The archipelago, with a population of approximately 125 million, experiences hundreds of earthquakes annually, accounting for about 18% of the world’s seismic activity. The memory of the massive 9.0-magnitude undersea earthquake in 2011, which triggered tsunami waves that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and caused the destruction of the Fukushima nuclear plant, remains vivid in the minds of the Japanese.
