Several people are trapped inside a shopping centre after a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck south-western Japan, causing part of the building to collapse, emergency officials have said.
DDM gathered that the earthquake struck inland on Japan’s Kyushu island at about 4:27 p.m. local time (07:27 GMT) on Tuesday, prompting authorities to order more than 150,000 residents to evacuate to emergency shelters.
A tsunami warning issued shortly after the quake was later lifted.
Emergency responders said many people were trapped inside an Aeon Mall in Kumamoto Prefecture after the building sustained significant damage.
According to the local fire department, the second floor of the shopping complex in Kashima collapsed, leaving numerous people trapped beneath the debris as rescue operations continued.
Some local media outlets also reported an explosion at the mall following the earthquake, although authorities have yet to confirm the cause.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency warned residents to remain on alert for strong aftershocks, noting that the earthquake had a shallow focal depth of about 10 kilometres.
Television footage broadcast by NHK showed cracked roads and bridges, damaged buildings and several fires in the affected areas.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said officials were still assessing the full extent of the damage but confirmed that several people had already been injured.
According to NHK, around 10 of the injured were residents of an elderly care home, while at least 50 people have been taken to hospital for treatment.
The earthquake also disrupted transport and power supplies, with train services suspended across parts of Kyushu and thousands of households left without electricity.
Japan lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire and is among the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, recording around 1,500 earthquakes each year.
