TOKYO — Several people are trapped inside a shopping mall that partially collapsed in an explosion after a powerful earthquake struck the Japanese city of Kumamoto on Tuesday, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the earthquake as magnitude 7.1 before revising it down to 6.8.
The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers at 4.27 pm local time (0727GMT), about 5 kilometers east of Uto in Kumamoto, according to the USGS.
It is unclear how many people were trapped inside when the second floor of the building collapsed, NHK reported, citing fire officials. About 50 people were injured in the blast, NHK reported.
The earthquake struck the city of Kumamoto, about 90 kilometers east of Nagasaki in southern Japan, on Tuesday afternoon local time, causing a highway bridge to buckle, and at least one other building to collapse.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the strong quake caused injuries, power outages, fires, damage to roads and bridges, and building collapses.
In their initial estimate, local police said nine people were unaccounted for but Takaichi stressed to reporters the number of casualties and extent of the damage was unclear and still being assessed, Reuters reported.
“We have already been informed that people have been injured,” Takaichi said. “Power outages and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings.”
Japan’s Cabinet Office Disaster Management Division earlier said a tsunami advisory had been issued for the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas, urging residents to leave coastal areas immediately.
The advisory was later lifted.
Kyushu Electric Power said that no abnormalities were reported at the Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima prefecture or at the Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga prefecture, reported Kyodo.
Shinkansen bullet train and local rail services were also suspended across the Kyushu region.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said the Self-Defense Forces had begun aerial reconnaissance and would prioritize life-saving operations, according to a statement through the US social media company X.
A massive earthquake in Kumamoto 10 years ago killed 275 people and injured 2,739 more.
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