Rescue teams and Japan's Self Defense Forces are working urgently to locate survivors following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck the Kumamoto area on the southern island of Kyushu. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the ongoing efforts as a race against time, promising that the government would do everything possible to find those still missing. The death toll from the disaster has risen to 13.
The impact of the quake is widespread, with critical infrastructure damage and utility disruptions reported across the region. According to chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara, approximately 36,900 homes remain without electricity, while 9,500 households are without gas. Communication networks are also experiencing failures in several areas. As the region grapples with an ongoing heat wave, with temperatures expected to exceed 32 Celsius (90 Fahrenheit), more than 9,000 residents have sought refuge in over 500 evacuation shelters. Authorities are currently working to install additional power sources to ensure these centers have functional air conditioning.
Search efforts are concentrated on several high-damage sites. At the Aeon Mall in the town of Kashima, rescue workers are operating after the building's second floor collapsed, an event suspected to have been triggered by a gas leak explosion. Similarly, at the Nippon Paper Industries Co.'s Yatsushiro factory, a collapsed chimney trapped several individuals. Emergency teams confirmed that while two survivors and two bodies have been recovered from the factory site, seven people remained trapped as of Wednesday.
Transportation and tourism have also been severely affected. The Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train remains suspended, and while Aso Kumamoto Airport has resumed operations after closing a runway on Tuesday, officials have warned that further flight cancellations are possible. Additionally, historical sites have not been spared; stone walls at Kumamoto Castle—a landmark still undergoing repairs from a deadly 2016 earthquake that killed at least 50 people—sustained new damage.
Reflecting on the scale of the disaster, Hiroki Shimoda, an official at the Mifune town hall, noted that the intensity of the shaking brought back frightening memories of the 2016 event. Prime Minister Takaichi has pledged that the federal government is organizing the delivery of food and essential supplies to the hardest-hit areas, while offering her condolences to the victims and their families.
