A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit southwest Japan on Tuesday afternoon, igniting fires near its epicenter, damaging buildings and highways, and injuring dozens, according to Japan’s public broadcaster.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the earthquake struck around 4:27 p.m. local time in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu island, the southernmost of Japan’s main islands. According to local officials, the force of the quake collapsed buildings across the region, trapping people inside buildings, as fires broke out in Kumamoto City, the regional capital. At least 50 people were being treated for injuries at a hospital in Hikawa, a town to the south of the city, according to the public broadcaster NHK.
Fire officials said they were racing to rescue an unknown number of people from inside a shopping mall in a southern neighborhood of Kumamoto City, after its second floor collapsed and injured at least two people. Aerial footage showed extensive damage to the building.
Aerial images taken by NHK showed elevated sections of the Kyushu Expressway had broken into two pieces, as other footage showed a partially collapsed wall at Kumamoto Castle, a landmark in the city’s heart. Ms. Takaichi said the authorities were trying to assess the severity of damage to buildings and bridges.
The earthquake’s epicenter was near Uto, a coastal city around 30 miles from Kumamoto City in the same prefecture, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency had initially reported it as a 7.1-magnitude quake before revising it down.
Local transportation links were affected by the force of the quake, potentially complicating response efforts. Train services on Kyushu island were suspended and Kumamoto International Airport, which serves the regional capital of more than 700,000 people, said it was closed. Across the region, local police reported at least 12 collapsed houses, including four in which individuals had been trapped.
The Fire and Disaster Management Authority said at least seven fires had broken out throughout the prefecture, mostly concentrated in Kumamoto City.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that earthquakes of a similar scale could occur in the next few days.
There were no reports of abnormalities at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant, which is in Kagoshima prefecture, near Kumamoto, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a news briefing. The power plant has two nuclear reactors and supplies electricity to the Kyushu region.
Here’s what else we’re covering.
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Seismic history: The earthquake evoked painful memories for residents of Kumamoto, which was hit by a powerful series of earthquakes 10 years ago that killed 278 people across the prefecture and surrounding areas.
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Tsunami warnings lifted: After initially warning that the earthquake could trigger a tsunami around the Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas, the Japan Meteorological Agency lifted its tsunami advisories at around 6.10 p.m. local time.
