Rescuers were on the morning of Wednesday, July 29, searching for people potentially trapped under the rubble of a shopping center in southwest Japan, following a strong earthquake that left at least 13 dead.
The death toll from this 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which hit the Kumamoto department on the island of Kyushu on Tuesday, now stands at 13 confirmed deaths, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on Wednesday. “Considerable damage has been confirmed, including casualties, building collapses, fires and road damage,” she told reporters.
Two people died in a shopping complex where one floor collapsed, an official from the Kumamoto department said earlier, adding that another person was in cardiopulmonary arrest. This building in Kashima, a suburb of the city of Kumamoto, suffered an explosion following the earthquake, possibly due to gas leaks. Ceilings and walls collapsed, revealing the metal structure.
“The explosion occurred after customers and staff had been evacuated,” said a spokesperson for Aeon, the mall’s operator. Eight people were rescued, including five injured, a local official said. According to the government, around 130 police officers, 450 firefighters and 170 soldiers are mobilized on site.
Evacuation centers
Some reports had initially mentioned 20 to 30 people still trapped inside, but “this figure seems to be lower”, the police said on Wednesday, cited by public television NHK, however judging it “certain that some employees (there) remain prisoners”. Without a secure access route, it is difficult to enter, she said.
The departmental official also indicated that two people were in cardiorespiratory arrest at a Nippon Paper factory in the town of Yatsushiro, where a chimney collapsed. Nine other people remain missing on the site of this factory, departmental authorities said.
In addition, more than 9,000 people found shelter overnight in evacuation centers, the Japanese government announced. The latter also reported seven people seriously injured and 29 lightly injured across the entire affected region.
The earthquake occurred on Tuesday at 4:27 p.m. (local time) on the island of Kyushu. Its magnitude, 7.1 according to the Japanese meteorological agency JMA, was 6.8 according to the American Geological Survey (USGS). Its level was also the highest (7) on a separate scale used in Japan, which measures the strength with which earthquakes are felt in a given location, the JMA said.
