A magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Japan’s Kyushu island on 28 July has killed at least 34 people, with the epicentre in Kumamoto prefecture. The disaster injured at least 63 and forced more than 150,000 residents to evacuate, leaving over 10,000 sheltering in evacuation centres.
Rescue crews have been searching for survivors trapped beneath rubble at sites including a paper factory in Yatsushiro, where eight workers died when a chimney collapsed, and the Aeon shopping centre in Kashima, where six people were killed after a gas explosion. The quake damaged temples, roads and bridges and left more than 40,000 households without power.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed the mounting casualty toll as more than 250 aftershocks were recorded. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of further tremors of up to magnitude 7, while tens of thousands of homes remain without water or electricity.