Deaths feared after ‘many people’ trapped inside Japanese shopping centre following earthquake – as it happened

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What we know so far

• A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken south Japan, leaving at least 50 people injured. Some are trapped and presumed dead inside a shopping mall. The earthquake hit the Kumamoto prefecture on the southern Kyushu island late on Tuesday afternoon, knocking out power to thousands of homes and damaging roads, bridges and buildings.

• Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, told reporters authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage in the area, which was devastated by another deadly quake a decade ago. “We have already been informed that people have been injured. Power outages ⁠and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings,” Takaichi said. “I ask everyone to take action to protect themselves, including evacuating to a safe location.”

• An explosion occurred in an Aeon shopping mall shortly after the earthquake, trapping “many people”, fire services said. The broadcaster TBS reported that police said “quite a few” were presumed dead. About 20 to 30 workers at the mall were unaccounted for, NHK said.

• An Aeon spokesperson said customers and employees were evacuated after the initial quake and the cause of the explosion remained unclear. Footage showed one side of the mall, the prefecture’s largest with roughly 200 stores, was torn away, exposing steel beams ‌and strewing debris across the neighbouring car park. Several ambulances and fire engines were parked outside as rescue teams searched for survivors.

• About 300,000 people have been instructed to go to evacuation centres, ⁠the disaster management agency said. The areas with the biggest tremors will remain at risk of further strong quakes and landslides for about a week since the shallow earthquake is triggering active seismic activity in the area, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

• So far there have been more than 60 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 1 to 4, the agency said. A tsunami warning was issued immediately after the quake, ​but was lifted within two hours. One person was killed in south-west Japan when a house collapsed during the earthquake, Kyodo News reported.

• One hospital reported ​more than 50 injuries, and another about 40, including 10 in a serious condition, the public broadcaster NHK said. Several people on a high-speed ‌train at the time of the quake were also ‌injured and multiple people were unaccounted for after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory, according to local media reports.

• The quake’s epicentre was about 12 miles (20km) south of Kumamoto, central Kyushu island’s largest city, with a population of about 700,000. The US Geological Survey initially said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, but revised it later to 6.8.

Read our full report here:

Key events

• 6h ago

  What we know so far

• 8h ago

  Deaths feared after ‘many people’ trapped inside Japanese shopping centre - reports

• 8h ago

  Magnitude of earthquake revised down to 6.8

• 9h ago

  Several people missing at paper factory after chimney collapsed, report says

• 10h ago

  Around 300,000 people instructed to go to evacuation centres

• 11h ago

  No damage or safety issues at Sendai nuclear plant after quake - IAEA

• 11h ago

  People trapped in a shopping centre after earthquake hits southern island in Japan

The Kumamoto region located in the southwestern island of Kyushu was the epicentre of the earthquake and it is no stranger to such disasters. In 2016, the volcanic area was the hardest hit by a series of earthquakes, the highest was a 7.0-magnitude just beneath Kumamoto city. In total 277 people were killed, either directly by the earthquake or due to disaster related injuries

At the time, the Guardian reported that tens of thousands of people were evacuated from Mashiki, one of the the worst hit towns.

The Kumamoto Prefecture lies at the southern end of the Japan Median Tectonic Line, Japan’s longest tectonic zone.

Joe Pinner

Hundreds of injured people have been transported to medical facilities throughout Kumamoto Prefecture, but some hospitals have had to cease operations due to power outages and other issues.

According to a report compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, as of 10pm local time, 43 medical institutions in Kumamoto Prefecture have suffered damage such as power outages, water shortages, and inability to use medical gas.

According to the Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution website, as of 01:30am local time,over 40,000 households in Kumamoto Prefecture are experiencing power outages.

Joe Pinner

Four people have been rescued from the scene at the Aeon shopping mall, and none of them are in life-threatening condition. The whereabouts of 10 people still remains unknown.

A senior government official told reporters: “We don’t know if it was the cause of the explosion, but there have been reports that gas was leaking. The main gas valve has been shut off, and the police, fire department, and Self-Defense Forces are conducting rescue operations.”

Footage captured inside a Costco in Kumamoto shows shoppers ducking for cover after shelves collapse as the earthquake hit.

Joe Pinner

Japan’s public broadcaster NHK are reporting that two people are in cardiac arrest and nine others are missing following a chimney collapse at Nippon Paper Industries Yatsushiro plant in the Kumamoto.

According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, local firefighters reported that “there are nine people who need to be rescued”.

According to Kumamoto Prefecture, two people were found in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest.

The Aeon mall had just reopened last month as as a new and improved shopping and entertainment complex to commemorate its recovery from the magnitude 7.3 Kumamoto earthquake of 2016, which had left it badly damaged and in need of rebuilding, according to Reuters.

What we know so far

• A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken south Japan, leaving at least 50 people injured. Some are trapped and presumed dead inside a shopping mall. The earthquake hit the Kumamoto prefecture on the southern Kyushu island late on Tuesday afternoon, knocking out power to thousands of homes and damaging roads, bridges and buildings.

• Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, told reporters authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage in the area, which was devastated by another deadly quake a decade ago. “We have already been informed that people have been injured. Power outages ⁠and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings,” Takaichi said. “I ask everyone to take action to protect themselves, including evacuating to a safe location.”

• An explosion occurred in an Aeon shopping mall shortly after the earthquake, trapping “many people”, fire services said. The broadcaster TBS reported that police said “quite a few” were presumed dead. About 20 to 30 workers at the mall were unaccounted for, NHK said.

• An Aeon spokesperson said customers and employees were evacuated after the initial quake and the cause of the explosion remained unclear. Footage showed one side of the mall, the prefecture’s largest with roughly 200 stores, was torn away, exposing steel beams ‌and strewing debris across the neighbouring car park. Several ambulances and fire engines were parked outside as rescue teams searched for survivors.

• About 300,000 people have been instructed to go to evacuation centres, ⁠the disaster management agency said. The areas with the biggest tremors will remain at risk of further strong quakes and landslides for about a week since the shallow earthquake is triggering active seismic activity in the area, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

• So far there have been more than 60 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 1 to 4, the agency said. A tsunami warning was issued immediately after the quake, ​but was lifted within two hours. One person was killed in south-west Japan when a house collapsed during the earthquake, Kyodo News reported.

• One hospital reported ​more than 50 injuries, and another about 40, including 10 in a serious condition, the public broadcaster NHK said. Several people on a high-speed ‌train at the time of the quake were also ‌injured and multiple people were unaccounted for after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory, according to local media reports.

• The quake’s epicentre was about 12 miles (20km) south of Kumamoto, central Kyushu island’s largest city, with a population of about 700,000. The US Geological Survey initially said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, but revised it later to 6.8.

Read our full report here:

Joe Pinner

A gas leak may have caused the explosion at the shopping mall where it is feared that a “considerable number” of people may have died.

A senior government official told Japanese reporters that Aeon Mall Kumamoto had reported a gas leak, according to NHK.

The official told journalists that whilst the cause of the explosion has not yet been verified, the main gas valve has now been shut off, and police, fire departments, and the Self-Defense Forces are conducting rescue operations.

An Aeon spokesperson said earlier in the day that the cause of the explosion remained unclear.

When the explosion occurred at southern Kumamoto’s largest shopping mall, a dashcam in a car driving near the scene captured the moment of the explosion.

A shopping centre has partially collapsed in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in south-western Japan leaving people trapped inside, according to emergency services.

Today’s earthquake registered a 7.1 magnitude, although that was later revised down to 6.8 by the US Geological Survey.

This graphic shows the shake intensity spreading out from the epicentre of the quake.

Here are are some of the latest photos of damage caused by the earthquake…

Deaths feared after ‘many people’ trapped inside Japanese shopping centre - reports

It is feared that a “considerable number” of people have died in a shopping mall damaged by a major earthquake in southwestern Japan, broadcaster TBS said.

TV Asahi also reported that there had been “several deaths” at the shopping mall, citing a local police source. Meanwhile, Fuji TV also reported there had been fatalities.

Emergency services earlier said “many people” were trapped inside the building after a floor collapsed.

Around 20 to 30 workers at ​southern Kumamoto’s largest shopping mall were unaccounted for after it was rocked by an explosion in the ‌aftermath of the quake, NHK said.

Fire services earlier said ‌multiple people were trapped inside.

One side of the mall, which houses around 200 stores, was torn away, exposing steel beams ‌and strewing debris across a vast parking lot, footage showed.

Several ambulances and fire engines were parked outside, as rescue teams searched for survivors.

A spokesperson for mall operator Aeon said customers and employees were evacuated right after the initial quake and that the exact cause of the ensuing explosion was unclear.

Magnitude of earthquake revised down to 6.8

The US Geological Survey initially said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, but subsequently revised it down to 6.8.

Several people missing at paper factory after chimney collapsed, report says

“Several” people are missing from the Nippon Paper Industries Yatsushiro plant in the Kumamoto prefecture after a chimney collapsed there, according to a report by Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, which cited the Yatsushiro police station as its source of information.

The report added that police and firefighters are investigating the matter. The plant is located in Yatsushiro City.

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As we mentioned in an earlier post, Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan’s oldest and most renowned castles, was damaged after today’s powerful earthquake hit. In a brief social media post, the castle’s management wrote:

Due to the impact of the Kumamoto regional earthquake that occurred earlier, today’s operations will be suspended. We ask everyone to prioritize your own safety above all else in your actions.

There have been more than 60 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 1 to 4, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Kyodo News agency said a hospital in Yatsushiro city accepted about 40 people with injuries from the quake.

A train was derailed and fell on its side at the Yatsushiro station, and stone walls were damaged at the Kumamoto castle, Kyodo said.

Yozo Kai, a priest at a Shinto shrine in the nearby town of Mashiki, said a few stone lanterns fell down. “I worried if the main hall and the gate would tilt again,” he told Kyodo.

“The shaking reminded me of the Kumamoto quake (10 years ago) and I was frightened,” said Hiroki Shimoda, an official at the Mifune town hall, who saw rooftiles of nearby homes crash down to the ground.