Symbolic imageKumamoto earthquake: death toll rises to 18 as rescuers search mall and factory
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.
China Japan VietnamAeon Mall Co.Japan Meteorological AgencyJapan Self-Defence ForcesUnited States Geological Survey
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.