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Kumamoto
Watch: The moment a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, trapping people in a shopping centre
One person was reportedly killed and more than 100 have been injured.
LAST UPDATE | 28 Jul
A magnitude 7.1 quake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28, registering the highest intensity of 7 on the Japanese scale in some areas. A tsunami advisory has been issued for the coasts of the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea.
— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) July 28, 2026
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EMERGENCY RESPONDERS ARE searching for people feared trapped in a shopping mall in Japan after a major earthquake toppled buildings, sparked fires and reportedly killed one person and injured more than 100.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit inland on Kyushu island at 4.27pm local time (6.27am Irish time), toppling buildings and sparking fires.
One person has reportedly been killed while more than 100 are thought to have been injured.
The fire department said the second floor of the shopping complex in Kashima town collapsed, “leaving many people trapped inside”.
Private broadcaster TBS reported that a “considerable number” of people were feared dead inside the mall.
Regional officials have said they believed 10 people were unaccounted for in the mall, public broadcaster NHK reported. It earlier cited police as saying between 20 and 30 of the mall’s employees could not be contacted.
Police told AFP earlier that they could not confirm any fatalities inside the badly damaged building. Kyodo News reported that four people had been taken to hospital, all of them conscious.
Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae pledged that emergency responders would work “tirelessly” through the night “starting with the rescue and lifesaving of those affected.”
Police said earlier they had received reports of what sounded like an explosion at the Aeon Mall outlet in the Kumamoto region, with no information on damage or any casualties.
Multiple people were also believed to be unaccounted for at a factory in Yatsushiro city where the tip of a chimney fell down, NHK reported, citing sources.
One person was killed when a house collapsed during the quake, Kyodo reported.
Television footage showed several blazes, damaged bridges, a derailed cargo train and cracked roads after the tremor on Kyushu island.
The tremor had a magnitude of 7.1, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, but reached the highest level of seven on Japan’s Shindo scale.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.8.
A succession of aftershocks followed, including one with a magnitude of 6.1.
Blast at shopping mall in Kumamoto after quake
— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) July 28, 2026
An explosion occurred at Aeon Mall Kumamoto on July 28, causing the second floor to collapse and trapping multiple people inside, according to fire officials.
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Power outages
Many roads were closed and high-speed shinkansen train services were suspended in the region affected by the quake. Kumamoto airport was closed for several hours before re-opening in the evening.
Two hospitals reported taking in at least 50 injured patients each, NHK said.
“People are coming in with burns and fractures from being trapped under objects due to the earthquake, and ambulances are constantly bringing in injured people,” NHK quoted one hospital employee as saying.
“Inside the hospital, there are water leaks and electrical system failures.”
The broadcaster also said that around 10 people were hurt at a nursing home for the elderly.
“Human casualties, building collapses, road damage, fires… have been confirmed so far,” Takaichi said on X, adding there were also “water and power outages”.
The Japanese military has mobilised 3,600 personnel for disaster relief operations and sent 20 aircraft to assess the damage from the air, the defence minister said.
The JMA initially issued a tsunami alert, but it was later withdrawn.
Unverified footage shared on social media showed parts of a wall at the centuries-old Kumamoto Castle collapsing.
No immediate abnormalities were recorded at nuclear power plants, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said.
About 45,000 households and facilities had no power in the Kumamoto region, according to local utility Kyushu Electric Power.
The firm said three nuclear reactors operating in the region at the time were functioning normally.
‘Ring of Fire’
A local NHK staffer wearing a helmet reported live on air that the shaking was continuing around half an hour after the quake, with the newsroom rocking so violently that it was difficult to remain standing.
“Including myself, there may be some people who feel their hearts racing,” the staffer said.
Kumamoto was hit by two devastating earthquakes in 2016 – one of magnitude 6.5, followed two days later by one of magnitude 7.3 – which killed 273 people and injured more than 2,800.
Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of jolts every year and accounts for about 18% of the world’s earthquakes.
The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth’s surface at which they strike.
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