Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Strikes Southwestern Japan; Death Toll Reaches 18
A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Japan on Monday, killing at least 18 people with dozens more trapped in collapsed buildings, including a shopping mall where an explosion occurred hours after the initial tremor.
Devastating Tremor Hits Kyushu
Soldiers and emergency workers combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses Wednesday after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 18 people in southwestern Japan. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit a day earlier in the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu also left at least 62 people injured, six of them seriously.
Rescue Efforts Underway
Soldiers and emergency workers are searching for trapped survivors at a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses. Rescue efforts continue at a collapsed shopping mall; an explosion had ripped through the mall about an hour after the quake. The tally has been steadily growing, fanning fears it may continue to rise.
Challenging Conditions
The sweltering weather heightened worries about the survivors as rescuers braved the heat. It remained unclear how many people might still be missing. The tremor is the most powerful to hit the region in 10 years since a 7.0 magnitude quake recorded in 2016.
Major Damage Areas
Some of the most serious damage was at the Aeon Mall shopping center in Kashima city, which was bustling with thousands of people when the quake happened. Emergency responders are in a race against time during the critical 72-hour rescue window to locate and extract survivors from the rubble.