A powerful earthquake struck south-western Japan on Tuesday, injuring dozens of people, collapsing buildings and sparking fires.
The 7.1-magnitude quake hit Kyushu island at 16:27 local time, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). A tsunami warning issued after the tremor was later lifted.
The JMA said the shaking also reached the maximum level of 7 on Japan’s intensity scale, which measures how strongly an earthquake is felt in a specific location.
In Kashima, in Kumamoto prefecture, the second floor of a shopping centre collapsed, trapping many people inside, emergency services said. Witnesses also reported hearing an explosion there.
Private broadcaster TBS said a considerable number of people were believed to have died in the shopping centre. Local police told AFP they were not yet able to confirm any fatalities.
Television footage showed partially destroyed road bridges, torn-open buildings and overturned freight train wagons.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the full extent of the injuries and damage was still being assessed. She said power cuts and fires had broken out in some areas, while roads, bridges and buildings had been damaged or destroyed.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that at least 50 people had been taken to hospital after the earthquake. It also said 12 homes had collapsed near the city of Yatsushiro.
Japan’s nuclear regulator said no immediate abnormalities had been detected at nuclear power plants in the region.
About 45,000 homes and facilities in Kumamoto prefecture were without electricity, according to utility company Kyushu Electric Power, which said three nuclear reactors in the region were continuing to operate normally.
