A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan. Buildings were destroyed, roads and bridges damaged, and about 48,000 homes lost power. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Approximately 300,000 residents were advised to evacuate. Hundreds of military personnel have been dispatched to the region, and search and rescue operations are ongoing.
The most serious incident occurred at the largest shopping center in the prefecture, where an explosion, likely due to a gas leak, occurred after the earthquake. According to NHK, between 20 and 30 workers are missing. The building partially collapsed, and rescuers are working at the site.
Local media reported that one person died when a building collapsed near the epicenter. Several others went missing after a chimney collapsed at the Nippon Paper Industries plant. Two hospitals reported more than 100 injured, some in serious condition.
The earthquake halted train services, including high-speed Shinkansen, closed Kumamoto Airport, and canceled or diverted flights. Major companies, including TSMC, Sony, and Fujifilm, evacuated employees. Some businesses temporarily suspended operations.
About 100 aftershocks were recorded after the main tremor. The tsunami warning was later lifted, but authorities warned of the risk of further strong earthquakes and landslides in the coming week. According to the regulator, no abnormalities were detected at nuclear power plants.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that the death toll from earthquakes in Venezuela the previous day exceeded 5,500 people.