A powerful earthquake struck Japan's Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday afternoon, collapsing buildings, cutting power to thousands of homes, and sparking fires across the region. The quake hit at 4:30 p.m. local time, with its epicenter near the coastal city of Uto, about 48 kilometers southwest of Kumamoto City.
According to Al Jazeera, the earthquake was initially reported as magnitude 7.1, but the U.S. Geological Survey later revised the estimate to 6.8. A tsunami advisory was issued immediately after the quake but was later lifted. Aftershocks continued into the night, with a magnitude 4.1 tremor striking just after midnight.
The damage across Kumamoto City was extensive. NHK footage showed sections of the Kyushu Expressway split apart and part of the wall surrounding Kumamoto Castle collapsed. Roads were badly damaged and power was cut to thousands of homes. The quake was strong enough to be felt across the sea in South Korea.
One of the most serious incidents occurred at the Aeon shopping mall in Kumamoto City, where part of the second floor collapsed as the earthquake struck. Employees managed to evacuate approximately 200 shoppers before a powerful explosion tore through the complex about an hour later, blowing out walls and exposing steel framework throughout the building. Witnesses reported smelling gas in the area, though the cause of the explosion remained unclear. NHK reported that 20 to 30 employees were initially unaccounted for following the blast.
The mall had only reopened last month after being rebuilt in the wake of the devastating Kumamoto earthquake of 2016. Its June 13 reopening had been intended as a fresh start for one of the region's main shopping and entertainment destinations.
Officials confirmed that no abnormalities were detected at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in neighboring Kagoshima prefecture following the earthquake. The two-reactor facility sits south of Kumamoto in the same Kyushu region.
Kumamoto City has an estimated population of 700,000. Emergency crews were continuing rescue operations and assessing the full scale of destruction as authorities worked to determine whether additional people remained trapped in collapsed structures.
