A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Japan on Tuesday afternoon, damaging buildings and homes, igniting fires and injuring dozens, prompting a search for people who may have been trapped in rubble.
Here’s what to know.
Where did the earthquake happen?
The earthquake hit around 4:30 p.m. local time in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu island, the southernmost of Japan’s main islands.
The earthquake’s intensity led to buildings collapsing in the region. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan said people were trapped inside some structures. Fires also erupted in Kumamoto City, the regional capital, which has a population of more than 700,000.
The epicenter of the quake was near Uto, a smaller coastal city around 30 miles south of Kumamoto City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. agency had earlier reported a magnitude measurement of 7.1 for the earthquake before it adjusted the figure to 6.8.
Where was the most severe damage?
The second floor of a shopping mall in southern Kumamoto City collapsed, injuring two people. Crews were working to rescue people who may have been trapped inside. Video footage posted on social media showed debris scattered inside and outside the mall.
Aerial footage showed a flipped train carriage on tracks in the city and widespread damage to buildings and bridges. Other images recorded by the public broadcaster NHK also captured elevated sections of the Kyushu Expressway that had split into two pieces, as other footage showed a wall that had partly collapsed at Kumamoto Castle, a landmark in the city’s center.
The prime minister said the authorities were still assessing the severity of the damage to buildings and bridges.
Was anyone killed or injured?
At least one person died in a hospital after being found in a collapsed house in Kumamoto, according to the police.
At least 50 people were being treated for injuries at a hospital in Hikawa, a town to the south of Kumamoto City, according to NHK.
The last major quake in Japan in 2024, centered on the Noto peninsula farther north, killed hundreds of people, with more succumbing to disaster-linked causes afterward, according to NHK.
In April 2016, the Kumamoto region also experienced days of deadly seismic events that killed at least nine and injured hundreds, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
What is the status of the area’s nuclear power plant?
The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant appeared to be secure and had no reports of abnormalities, Minoru Kihara, a top Japanese cabinet official, said during a news briefing.
The power plant, which has two reactors and supplies electricity to the Kyushu region, is in Kagoshima, south of Kumamoto.
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