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🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

Japan quake toll rises to 13 as rescuers haul people from collapsed mall

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Kumamoto, Japan, killing at least 13 people and trapping survivors under rubble.
  • Rescuers pulled eight people from a collapsed shopping mall, where two women died in an apparent explosion after the quake.
  • Thousands were left without power, and hospitals struggled with outages and overcapacity, while authorities warned of aftershocks and landslides.

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Kumamoto, Japan, claiming at least 13 lives and leaving rescuers in a desperate race against time to find survivors trapped beneath collapsed structures. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to mobilize all available resources to save those still awaiting rescue.

The quake triggered widespread damage, cutting power to thousands of homes and rupturing roads. In a dramatic rescue operation, eight people were pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed shopping mall early Wednesday. Tragically, two young women died in what appeared to be an explosion of unknown origin that ripped through the mall shortly after the earthquake, prompting an investigation into a possible gas leak.

Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race ‌against time. We will marshal all available resources on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible.

— Sanae TakaichiPrime Minister Takaichi speaking to reporters about the rescue efforts following the earthquake.

Emergency services, including fire rescue teams, police, and army personnel, concentrated their efforts on sections of the mall where calls for help had been received. The full scale of the disaster remained unclear, with reports indicating that 20 to 30 mall workers were unaccounted for. Further complicating the situation, seven people went missing after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory, and four others sustained serious injuries.

Hospitals in the region, which experienced a deadly earthquake a decade ago, were overwhelmed. One hospital in Uki city reported being unable to function due to a power outage, describing its condition as akin to a "field hospital." Another facility suspended admissions after treating 86 injured individuals, including three with severe injuries. High-speed train passengers were also among those injured. The Aeon mall, the largest in the prefecture, suffered extensive damage, with one side torn away, exposing its internal structure and scattering debris across the parking lot.

It’s become like a field hospital.

— Head of administrative departmentAn unnamed hospital official describing the impact of a power outage on their facility.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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