Emergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake left widespread devastation, with buildings collapsed, roads severely damaged and emergency teams digging through rubble. At least 13 people have been killed and many are reported missing after the quake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu, according to the Japan meteorological agency, which measured it as a magnitude 7.1 event. The US Geological Survey measured it at magnitude 6.8.
The Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said rescue workers faced a “race against time” to reach more people still trapped in rubble.
“We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can,”
she said.
Eight people were pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed Aeon shopping centre near the city of Kumamoto following an apparent explosion that occurred around an hour after the earthquake, according to reports. Aeon said four workers at the shopping centre remained unaccounted for.
“I thought a bomb had gone off,” Takateru Sonoda, 41, who runs a hair salon and cafe near the shopping centre, told the Japanese Jiji Press news agency.
“There were people calling on others to evacuate and sirens were ringing out. Nearby roads were gridlocked, it was a state of panic.”
Seven people are also still missing at the Nippon Paper Industries factory where a chimney collapsed on to the site. Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported that four people were rescued from the rubble at the paper mill, including two who were seriously injured.
Nearly 37,000 homes were still without electricity, 9,500 homes were without gas and communication networks were not working in some areas, chief government spokesperson Minoru Kihara told reporters. More than 9,000 people left their homes to stay in more than 500 shelters, Kihara added.
Read our overnight report here:
Three people still missing in Aeon shopping centre - official
Japan’s Mainichi newspaper has reported some remarks from Akio Yoshida, the president of retail company Aeon, which operated a shopping centre that partially collapsed after yesterday’s earthquake and a subsequent explosion.
Yoshida told a press briefing that three workers at the shopping centre in Kumamuto are still missing. He confirmed three people were killed, all of whom were employees.
“I offer my deepest condolences to those who have passed away, and I offer my sincerest apologies to their families. We will respond with utmost sincerity as a company,”
he said.
According to Yoshida, the explosion occurred at about 5.50pm, approximately one hour and 20 minutes after the earthquake. He said 3,000 people were inside the shopping centre when the earthquake hit.
Addressing concerns over a possible gas leak, Yoshida told reporters the shopping centre has been using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) since its opening in 2005, and that no problems such as gas leaks have been reported in the past.
Weather officials in Japan have warned of another hot day across wide areas of the country, including in the southern Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu where the earthquake hit. Temperatures are forecast to reach 35C in Kumamoto, according to the Japan meteorological agency, with highs of 38C in Miyazaki on Kyushu island.
Officials have advised people in the disaster-affected areas to take breaks while working outdoors on rescue operations and other recovery work.
As we wait for updates on the explosion at Aeon shopping centre in Kumamoto, earlier the chief government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said a gas smell was detected inside the building during yesterday’s search by firefighters and police, local media have reported.
Kihara stressed that the cause of the explosion, which happened about an hour after the earthquake struck, is still under investigation.
Toyota and Honda said they will suspend operations in their factories in Kumamoto in southern Japan until Friday.
“The situation, including aftershocks and recovery efforts, is changing daily,”
Toyota said in a statement.
“We will continue to prioritise safety above all else.”
Honda Motor said the suspension would allow repairs to quake-damaged parts of the factory.
Some images from Japan as search efforts continue after yesterday’s earthquake:
