A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan's southern island of Kyushu on Monday, killing dozens after a floor collapsed in a Kumamoto shopping centre and hospitalising at least 50 people, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said. The quake hit at 16:27 local time and reached the maximum 7 on Japan's shindo intensity scale.
Takaichi reported collapsed buildings, fires and damaged roads and bridges. At least 12 houses fell, with residents trapped in four, while roughly 45,000 homes lost power in Kumamoto. Emergency alerts went out across seven prefectures, including Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Fukuoka.
A one-metre tsunami warning was issued and later lifted by the Japan Meteorological Agency. No abnormalities were reported at nuclear facilities, with three reactors operating normally. The region was devastated by twin earthquakes a decade ago that killed 278 people.