Japan Earthquake Traps Many in Collapsed Kumamoto Shopping Mall
A Japan earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan's Kyushu island, causing a shopping mall to partially collapse with many people feared trapped inside, multiple buildings to collapse or sustain damage, fires, power outages, and more than 100 injuries. [2]
Overview of the Earthquake
The quake hit the Kumamoto prefecture on Kyushu island at 16:27 local time on Tuesday, with hundreds of thousands of people being told to move to evacuation shelters. [3] The Japan Meteorological Agency reported the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, which the US Geological Survey later measured as a 6.8. [3] Quake magnitude figures are often updated as seismologists obtain and analyse new data. [3] The quake at 4:27pm had a magnitude of 7.1, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, but reached the highest level of seven on Japan’s Shindo scale of shaking. [2] A succession of aftershocks followed, including one with a magnitude of 6.1 at 5:08pm. [2] The southern island of Kyushu is the third-largest of the four main islands in Japan, and the second most populous. [3]
Collapse at AEON Mall and Trapped Victims
Partially collapsed AEON Mall in Kumamoto after magnitude 7.1 earthquake traps many inside. — Source: taipei-times People remain trapped inside an Aeon Mall in Kumamoto prefecture, the fire service said. [3] Ten people remain unaccounted for at the shopping centre, an official at the Disaster Management Division of Kumamoto prefecture told the BBC. [3] Four people have been rescued from the mall and their lives are "not in danger", the official added. [3] A witness reported seeing an explosion and smoke at the shopping mall after the quake. [3] The witness saw the second floor of the building collapse, with some shoppers taken to hospital. [3] Japan's fire and disaster management agency later confirmed that the second floor of a "commercial facility" collapsed, with many people trapped inside. [3] “Many people” were feared trapped in a stricken shopping mall in Japan late yesterday, authorities said, after a major earthquake toppled buildings, sparked fires and reportedly injured more than 100 people. [2] Japanese private broadcaster TBS reported that a “considerable number” were feared dead inside the mall in the town of Kashima after the fire brigade said that the second floor collapsed in the magnitude 7.1 tremor. [2] Public broadcaster NHK cited police sources as saying that between 20 and 30 employees could not be contacted, showing footage of emergency vehicles with flashing red lights outside. [2] Police said they could not confirm any fatalities inside the building. [2] Kyodo News reported that four people had been taken to hospital, all of them conscious. [2] An aerial image shows the damaged AEON Mall following an earthquake in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, yesterday. [2]
Damage at the Paper Factory and Other Sites
Elsewhere in the Kumamoto prefecture, a chimney reportedly collapsed at Nippon Paper's Yatsushiro Plant, according to police, who are being cited by NHK. [3] An aerial photograph of the site obtained by Reuters news agency appears to show a broken and collapsed chimney. [3] The disaster management official told the BBC that two people at the plant had been found in a state of "cardiac arrest" and nine people are still missing. [3] Multiple people were also believed to be unaccounted for at a Japan Paper Industries factory where the tip of a chimney fell down, NHK reported, citing sources. [2] One person was killed when a house collapsed during the quake, Kyodo reported. [2] Nineteen people are missing at an Aeon shopping centre and a paper factory after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Kyushu island, an official said. [3] Tremors also caused historic walls at the 17th-century Kumamoto castle to tumble. [3] It is not the first time the castle has succumbed to an earthquake. [3] When a 7.3 magnitude quake hit the region in 2016, parts of the 400-year-old castle were also damaged as turrets and curved walls collapsed. [3] Unverified footage shared on social media showed parts of a wall at the centuries-old Kumamoto Castle collapsing. [2] A footbridge also collapsed in the Kumamoto region. [3] It is unclear if anyone was injured, or when the collapse took place. [3] Traffic appears to be travelling on the bridge that runs parallel to it. [3]
Injuries, Fires, and Infrastructure Impact
Two hospitals reported taking in at least 50 injured patients each, NHK said. [2] “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,” NHK quoted an employee at one hospital as saying. [2] “Inside the hospital, there are water leaks and electrical system failures,” the employee said. [2] The broadcaster also said that about 10 people were hurt at a nursing home for the elderly. [2] Footage elsewhere in the southwestern Kumamoto region on the island of Kyushu aired by NHK earlier showed several blazes, damaged bridges, a derailed cargo train and a number of houses threatening to topple over. [2] More than 40,000 households are without power, according to an update on Kyushu Electric's website. [3] About 45,000 households and facilities had no power in the Kumamoto region, local utility Kyushu Electric Power said. [2] There has also been damage to roads. [3] Many roads were closed and high-speed Shinkansen train services were suspended in the region. [2] Kumamoto airport was closed before being re-opened last night. [2] There have been more than 60 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 1 to 4, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. [3]
Official Response and Aftermath
“We are still assessing the extent of injuries and property damage, but I have been informed that there have already been several injuries,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said. [2] “Power outages and fires are happening in some areas, and roads and bridges have been damaged and buildings collapsed,” she said. [2] The Japanese military has mobilized 3,600 personnel for disaster relief operations and sent 20 aircraft to assess the damage from the air, the minister of defense said. [2] The Japan Meteorological Agency initially issued an alert for a possible tsunami of up to 1m, but withdrew the warning at about 6:10pm. [2] A tsunami warning was issued immediately after the quake, but was lifted within two hours. [3] No immediate abnormalities were recorded at nuclear power plants, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said. [2] The firm said three nuclear reactors operating in the region at the time were functioning normally. [2] A local NHK staffer wearing a helmet reported live on air that the shaking was continuing about half an hour after the quake, with the newsroom rocking so violently that it was difficult to remain standing. [2] “Including myself, there may be some people who feel their hearts racing,” the staffer said. [2] “When the earthquake occurred, the tremors were so strong that I could not stay on my feet,” declared on television, half an hour after the quake, an employee of the public channel NHK in the prefecture of Kumamoto, where the shake occurred. [5] “It was really very strong. The tremors continue at the moment I speak to you. Some people, including myself, felt that their heart was accelerating,” he added. [5]
Historical Context
Kumamoto was hit by two devastating earthquakes in 2016 — one of magnitude 6.5, followed two days later by one of magnitude 7.3 — which killed 273 people and injured more than 2,800. [2] A total of 278 people were killed in 2016 by powerful quakes in Kumamoto and neighbouring Oita prefectures, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK. [3] Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive magnitude 9.0 undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing about 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. [2] The country continues marked by the memory of the gigantic submarine earthquake of magnitude 9.0 that occurred in 2011, which triggered a devastating tsunami with around 18,500 dead or missing and a catastrophe at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. [5]
What to watch next: Information is still coming out of Japan with hundreds of aftershocks continuing and assessments of damage ongoing.
