The Japan Times
A powerful earthquake rocked Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu region Tuesday, injuring scores of people and reportedly triggering an explosion that collapsed part of a shopping mall and left many people trapped.
The magnitude 7.1 quake registered up to a shindo 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, and prompted multiple strong aftershocks. Authorities urged residents to remain vigilant for continued large quakes.
Authorities told NHK that the second floor of an Aeon shopping mall in the town of Kashima appeared to have collapsed, leaving a large number of people trapped following earlier reports of an explosion and white smoke rising from the building.
Some 200 people had reportedly evacuated to the mall’s parking lot.
Video showed portions of the mall’s exterior apparently blown off and steel beams exposed.
Meanwhile, at least 50 people had been injured and transported to hospital in the town of Hikawa, NHK said, citing local authorities.
Footage showed several collapsed buildings near the epicenter. The fire department in the city of Uki reported to the broadcaster that it had received many emergency calls as numerous fires broke out in the city.
Highway overpasses on the Kyushu Expressway in Yatsushiro sustained significant damage and what appeared to be the pedestrian portion of a bridge collapsed in the same city.
Source
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/28/japan/strong-earthquake-kyushu/