Japan quake kills at least three as 300,000 ordered to evacuate

At least three people were killed and dozens injured after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto Prefecture, damaging buildings, rupturing roads and cutting electricity to tens of thousands of homes.

Two women in their 20s died after an explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto following the earthquake on Tuesday. Another person was killed when a building collapsed near the epicentre, according to local media.

Rescue workers removed eight people from the shopping centre during overnight operations, the Kumamoto prefectural government reported early on Wednesday.

One of those rescued was in cardiopulmonary arrest. Five others were injured, although their conditions were not considered life-threatening.

Firefighters, police and Self-Defense Force personnel searched parts of the mall from which calls for help had been received.

Mall explosion under investigation

The blast tore away one side of the shopping centre, which contains about 200 shops. Images showed exposed steel supports and debris scattered across its car park.

Aeon reported that customers and employees had been evacuated immediately after the initial earthquake. The cause of the subsequent explosion remained unclear, although authorities were investigating whether it involved gas.

Kazuya Tsurunaga was clearing broken dishes inside a pub about 300 metres from the mall when the explosion occurred.

He described a powerful impact followed by a large cloud of smoke that drifted towards the pub, leaving the surrounding area covered in material resembling volcanic ash.

Several people were also reported missing after a chimney collapsed at Nippon Paper Industries’ Yatsushiro Mill.

Two hospitals were each treating more than 50 patients, including some with serious injuries. Passengers aboard high-speed trains were also hurt during the earthquake, railway operators reported.

Evacuations ordered as aftershocks continue

About 300,000 people were instructed to move to evacuation centres while aftershocks continued across Kyushu.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reported that authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage. Injuries, power failures and fires had been confirmed, along with damaged roads and bridges and collapsed buildings.

Emergency services responded to several reports of partially collapsed or burning structures.

Major roads were split by large cracks, disrupting traffic, while rail services were suspended and flights grounded.

The earthquake’s epicentre was about 20 kilometres south of Kumamoto City, the largest city in central Kyushu, with a population of around 700,000.

The Japan Meteorological Agency urged people in the worst-affected areas to remain alert for further strong earthquakes for about a week. Officials also warned of possible landslides.

Power, transport and factories disrupted

Kyushu Electric Power reported that about 48,000 homes lost electricity.

JR Kyushu suspended rail operations, including Shinkansen bullet-train services. Kumamoto Airport closed its runway, forcing airlines to cancel or divert flights.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Sony and Fujifilm evacuated employees from their plants after the earthquake.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, reported that its Kumamoto facility had not been affected and was gradually resuming operations.

Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron suspended work at two Kumamoto factories through Wednesday. Honda also temporarily halted production at its motorcycle plant in the prefecture.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority reported no irregularities at nuclear power stations in the affected region.

Region hit by deadly earthquake a decade earlier

Japan lies along the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences about 20% of the world’s earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher.

Kumamoto was struck by a major earthquake 10 years earlier that killed 275 people and injured 2,739, according to official figures.

That disaster damaged thousands of buildings, including the walls of Kumamoto Castle, one of the city’s main tourist attractions.

Authorities also warned evacuees and residents to guard against heatstroke, with temperatures forecast to reach 34C on Wednesday.