Gulf mediators and Iran agree to keep talking as US strike threat loomsIsrael votes at record turnout in election too close to callCongo Ebola cases pass 10,000 as neighbours tighten quarantineHouthis claim missile strike on Ras Tanura as Egypt backs RiyadhOleshky truce holds as Nordic leaders speak with PutinDrone strikes kill 21 in Nyala and cut power across Sudan as states warn of famineChurch reports 60 Orthodox Christians killed in two Oromia attacksIndia evacuates eastern coast as very severe Cyclone Arnab nears landfallJordan strikes southern Syria after church attack, Damascus protestsAnthropic's IPO filing shows heavy losses and warns of existential risksRussian strikes damage Kyiv's South Bridge and cut power in seven regionsFlávio Bolsonaro leaves for US as Brazil cancels his passportsOil holds near $115 while gas, fuel costs and inflation stay highChina's AI stocks keep falling despite state supportFrench student groups reject concessions as finance minister rules out new spendingAI stocks rebound as Meta raises equity and Anthropic files for IPOHebron displacement nears 5,000 as officers expect pullout after voteTwo men charged over RAF Fairford incidentStudent List wins Serbian election as Croatia demands acknowledgement of 1990s warsIndonesia and Singapore plan haze task force amid tensionsBrazil's real suffers worst day in over 25 years after Lula comebackIran threatens legal action against Sinokor ships over HormuzUN commission says Israel continued genocide in Gaza after ceasefireGas exporters meet in Moscow as Iranian and Qatari leaders hold talksIndonesian bond yield hits four-year high as MSCI risk and oil weighFrench consumer confidence hits 13-year low amid protestsGulf mediators and Iran agree to keep talking as US strike threat loomsIsrael votes at record turnout in election too close to callCongo Ebola cases pass 10,000 as neighbours tighten quarantineHouthis claim missile strike on Ras Tanura as Egypt backs RiyadhOleshky truce holds as Nordic leaders speak with PutinDrone strikes kill 21 in Nyala and cut power across Sudan as states warn of famineChurch reports 60 Orthodox Christians killed in two Oromia attacksIndia evacuates eastern coast as very severe Cyclone Arnab nears landfallJordan strikes southern Syria after church attack, Damascus protestsAnthropic's IPO filing shows heavy losses and warns of existential risksRussian strikes damage Kyiv's South Bridge and cut power in seven regionsFlávio Bolsonaro leaves for US as Brazil cancels his passportsOil holds near $115 while gas, fuel costs and inflation stay highChina's AI stocks keep falling despite state supportFrench student groups reject concessions as finance minister rules out new spendingAI stocks rebound as Meta raises equity and Anthropic files for IPOHebron displacement nears 5,000 as officers expect pullout after voteTwo men charged over RAF Fairford incidentStudent List wins Serbian election as Croatia demands acknowledgement of 1990s warsIndonesia and Singapore plan haze task force amid tensionsBrazil's real suffers worst day in over 25 years after Lula comebackIran threatens legal action against Sinokor ships over HormuzUN commission says Israel continued genocide in Gaza after ceasefireGas exporters meet in Moscow as Iranian and Qatari leaders hold talksIndonesian bond yield hits four-year high as MSCI risk and oil weighFrench consumer confidence hits 13-year low amid protests
Bota
Symbolic image: Kumamoto earthquake: death toll rises to 18 as rescuers search mall and factorySymbolic image

Kumamoto earthquake: death toll rises to 18 as rescuers search mall and factory

7 sources

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan has killed at least 18 people and injured 62, with dozens still unaccounted for a day later. Rescuers are digging through a shopping mall that partly collapsed after a suspected gas explosion an hour after the quake, and through a factory where a chimney fell. More than 9,000 people are in shelters during a heat wave, and China has offered condolences and help for its nationals.

What happened

An earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on Kyushu in southwestern Japan on Tuesday at 4:27 pm local time, put at magnitude 7.1 by the Japan Meteorological Agency and 6.8 by the US Geological Survey, with its epicentre some 20 kilometres south of Kumamoto city. At least 18 people were killed and 62 injured, and dozens are missing. About an hour later an explosion, which authorities suspect a gas leak caused, collapsed the second floor of the Aeon Mall in the town of Kashima; rescuers pulled out eight people and the operator says four workers remain unaccounted for. A chimney collapsed at Nippon Paper Industries' Yatsushiro factory, where seven people were still feared trapped on Wednesday; Breitbart reports that a falling crane at another plant killed a Vietnamese intern. The government counted about 36,900 homes without power, 9,500 without gas and more than 9,000 people in over 500 shelters amid a heat wave above 32C. The Self-Defence Forces deployed more than 4,500 soldiers, and the Kyushu Shinkansen stayed suspended.

The view from outside

Global Times said China's foreign ministry is following the impact closely, offered condolences and promised assistance to Chinese nationals, and it also highlighted an online backlash against Japan's defence minister over a disaster publicity photo.

What could happen next

The toll of 18 is provisional: Global Times reported 17 earlier in the day, and the searches at the mall and the paper mill will set the final figure. Aftershocks continue, a concern because the 2016 Kumamoto quake, commemorated in April, began with a foreshock two days before the deadlier tremor that killed more than 275 people. The government is adding power to shelters for air conditioning and preparing food deliveries, and damage assessment continues at Kumamoto Castle and on rail and air links.

To the edition