Soldiers and emergency workers searched for survivors after the Kumamoto-area earthquake killed at least 13 people and left others missing. Japanese authorities said at least 13 people were killed after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on Kyushu. Soldiers and emergency workers searched a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed homes for people reported missing or trapped.
About 36,900 homes remained without electricity and 9,500 without gas, while communications were disrupted in some districts. More than 9,000 residents were staying in over 500 shelters, where officials were adding power sources for air conditioning.
Bullet train services and some airport operations remained suspended while engineers assessed tracks, terminals and other infrastructure. A tsunami advisory issued after the quake was lifted, but authorities warned that aftershocks could destabilize already damaged structures.
Kumamoto suffered a deadly earthquake sequence in 2016, and some landmarks, including Kumamoto Castle, were still undergoing repairs when the new damage occurred. Collapsed masonry, gas leaks and damaged utilities can produce secondary fires or failures after the main shaking stops.
Initial disaster counts frequently change as rescuers reach damaged areas and hospitals reconcile admissions, missing-person reports and fatalities. As of the edition cutoff, The number of missing people, complete structural damage and final cause of the mall collapse remained under investigation. The available reports distinguish measurements and attributed claims from conclusions that had not yet been established. Where officials supplied numbers, those figures remain subject to revision as agencies reconcile records and publish later updates. Subsequent records may therefore change the totals without changing the initial chronology. The next factual records to examine are rescue outcomes and revised casualty totals and aftershock forecasts, utility restoration and engineering inspections.