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Quake, mall blast, deaths
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern Japan, and DW said at least 13 people have died while rescuers searched for missing employees at a partially collapsed mall in Kashima, Japan.
“Kumamoto, Japan, July 29 (EFE) - The blown-out façade of Kumamoto's Aeon shopping center, after the explosion it suffered this Tuesday, has become one of the most striking images left by the powerful 7”
DW reported that the quake destroyed the Aeon mall in Kashima after an explosion inside the building about an hour after the quake, with investigators suspecting a gas leak caused the blast.
The Report said the 7.1-magnitude quake hit Kumamoto on Kyushu island on Tuesday afternoon, flattening homes, sparking fires, damaging roads and bridges, and leaving tens of thousands of households without electricity.
The Report also said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed the deaths and described the damage as including casualties, collapsed buildings, fires and damage to roads.
In Kashima, The Report said two women were killed after an apparent gas explosion ripped through the shopping mall about 30 minutes after the earthquake, and rescue teams pulled eight people from the wreckage with five injured.
Officials, survivors, and uncertainty
KSL News said the quake in Kumamoto, Japan killed at least 18 people, including a foreigner, and left at least 62 people injured, with the prefectural government reporting six seriously injured.
KSL News quoted Aeon President Akio Yoshida saying, "We take it seriously that an explosion happened and precious lives were lost," after four deaths were confirmed at the mall site and three people remained missing.
The Report said the mall operator, Aeon, stated the explosion occurred after customers and employees had already evacuated, and it said police later reported the number of people believed trapped was lower than initially feared.
BBC reported that the president of the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto said the cause of the explosion remains under investigation, and it said around 3,000 customers and between 1,300 and 1,500 employees had been inside the building when the 6.8 magnitude earthquake happened less than an hour earlier on Tuesday.
BBC also said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that rescue teams were in a "race against time" as she confirmed at least 13 people were killed across the country after the quake hit Kumamoto prefecture.
Aftershocks, power loss, response
DW said more than 36,000 homes were still without power after the earthquake, while The Report said around 36,880 homes and other facilities were still without electricity on Wednesday morning.
“Earthquake in Japan: 13 dead, search for people trapped in a collapsed shopping mall”
The Report said the Japanese military deployed 3,600 personnel and 20 aircraft to assist with rescue operations and assess the scale of the damage, and it said high-speed Shinkansen train services remained suspended while a cargo train derailed during the quake.
KSL News said nearly 34,900 homes were still without electricity and some 15,000 homes without running water, and it said more than 8,800 people left their homes to stay in over 400 shelters where power sources were being added for air conditioning.
The Report said the tremor registered the highest level on Japan's seven-point shindo seismic intensity scale, indicating shaking so severe that people are unable to remain standing, and it quoted Kanzo Matsumoto saying, "It was the strongest quake I ever experienced."
WCCB Charlotte | Other said the Fire and Disaster Management Agency advised more than 260,000 people to evacuate, and it added that a tsunami advisory was issued but quickly lifted.
