Rescuers are trying to reach people who are feared to be trapped in the rubble.
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The 7.1 magnitude underground shock that occurred on Tuesday destroyed homes, caused fires, damaged bridges, and left tens of thousands of residents without electricity in the southwestern Kumamoto region, where hundreds of people died in two earthquakes in 2016.
“Significant damage confirmed, including casualties, collapsed buildings, fires, and damaged roads,” said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo.
Government spokesman Minoru Kihara indicated that seven more people were seriously injured, and as of Wednesday morning, more than 9,000 people were sheltered in 506 evacuation centers across three regions of Kyushu Island.
Some shocked local residents said it was the strongest earthquake they had experienced in their lifetime. It reached the highest level on Japan’s seven-point scale. During such quakes, it is impossible to stand on your feet.
“It was the strongest earthquake I have ever experienced,” said 73-year-old Kanzo Matsumoto, head of a luxury hot spring inn in Yatsushiro city, to AFP news agency.
“I’m not sure if the region will be able to recover from such damage,” he said.
35-year-old recruitment agent Chiharu Hara told AFP that she felt terrible during the earthquake.
“The office was swaying heavily from side to side. I was afraid it would collapse. Everyone panicked,” said Ch. Hara.
At least four people died at the Kashima shopping center, which is believed to have been damaged by a gas explosion about half an hour after the earthquake, which was followed by dozens of aftershocks.
Footage from inside the shopping center shows rescuers in orange overalls and white helmets making their way through twisted steel structures, hanging wires, and debris.
“The explosion occurred after shoppers and staff were evacuated,” an Aeon shopping center operator representative told AFP.
Initial reports stated that between 20 and 30 people might have been trapped inside, but broadcaster NHK quoted police on Wednesday morning saying this number was lower.
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It was confirmed that five people died at the Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro, where part of a chimney collapsed onto a large complex beneath it, officials reported. Four more people are considered missing.
Across the Kumamoto region, 36,880 households and institutions were still without electricity on Wednesday morning, officials said.
The powerful underground shock occurred on Tuesday at 16:27 (10:27 Lithuanian time). The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude of 6.8 at a depth of 10 kilometers.
The earthquake also overturned a freight train and damaged many roads, some of which became impassable. High-speed train traffic remained suspended on Wednesday.
Videos also show part of the centuries-old Kumamoto Castle wall collapsing.
Kumamoto Airport was closed for several hours but reopened on Tuesday evening.
The Japanese military mobilized 3,600 soldiers for rescue operations and dispatched 20 aircraft to assess damage from the air, the defense minister reported.
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, located at the junction of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
This archipelago, home to about 125 million people, experiences hundreds of underground shocks annually; the country accounts for about 18% of all earthquakes worldwide.
The vast majority are weak, although the damage they cause depends on the location and depth at which they occur.
Japan is still haunted by memories of the powerful 9.0 magnitude underwater earthquake in 2011. The resulting tsunami killed or left missing 18,500 people and caused the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.
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