7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Japan's Kyushu Island, Leaving at Least 13 Dead

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s southern island of Kyushu on Tuesday, collapsing the second floor of the Aeon Mall in Kashima Town and the chimney of a Japan Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro, trapping an unknown number of people and killing at least three, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (AP India). The tremor hit at 4:27 p.m. local time, reaching the maximum level of seven on Japan’s Shindo intensity scale, and was followed by a succession of aftershocks including a 6.1 magnitude jolt roughly 40 minutes later (The Hindu). A tsunami advisory for the Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas was issued but lifted within two hours (AP India).

In Kashima, the mall’s collapse came after an explosion believed to have been triggered by a gas leak, witnesses told Japanese media (AP India). A shopkeeper who had evacuated described hearing a blast “like a bomb” an hour after the initial shaking and seeing enormous white smoke billowing from the structure (AP India). A female employee said staff smelled gas upon re-entering the building to check on shops before the explosion occurred (AP India). Four people were pulled from the rubble injured and 10 others remained unaccounted for as of Wednesday morning, according to the Kumamoto prefectural emergency response team (AP India). At the Nippon Paper Industries factory, 11 people were trapped under debris from the fallen chimney; two were later found without vital signs while the condition of nine others was unknown (AP India). More than 260,000 people were advised to evacuate, primarily in Kumamoto prefecture and neighbouring Nagasaki (AP India).

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed 13 people dead and said rescue operations were a “race against time,” pledging to marshal all available resources (Indian Express). She also warned residents to take precautions against intense summer heat as relief efforts continued (Indian Express). Over 4,500 Self-Defense Forces personnel have been deployed across the region, with 170 concentrated at the mall site where distress calls were received (Indian Express). Authorities are investigating the cause of the mall explosion, with the top government spokesperson Minoru Kihara noting rescuers reported smelling gas inside the building (Indian Express). Two hospitals reported receiving at least 50 injured patients each, including burns and fractures, while also contending with water leaks and electrical failures (The Hindu). High-speed Shinkansen services were suspended and Kumamoto airport temporarily closed (The Hindu).

The Aeon Mall had reopened only recently after a decade-long reconstruction following a deadly 2016 quake, a detail noted by Reuters (Reuters India). The disaster unfolded as the United States and Saudi Arabia conducted joint strikes in Iraq against sites used by Iran-backed militias, following an Iranian missile barrage against American forces that U.S. Central Command said was fully intercepted (AP India). U.S. officials warned further attacks on troops or Saudi energy infrastructure risked additional action (AP India). Oil prices rose on the escalation (Reuters India). The death toll and the number of people still trapped in Kyushu remained fluid as search efforts continued.