At least 13 people have been killed after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Kumamoto late on Tuesday, emergency services said, as rescuers mobilise under what Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called a "race against time."
The tremor ripped through Yatsushiro and Kumamoto city while businesses were closing. In Sendan Shokudo, a small diner in Yatsushiro, co-owner Hiroko Ogata, 75, said the building lurched and kitchenware crashed to the floor. She sought shelter under a table and later reported, "I was surprised, and scared." Ogata, who has lived in Yatsushiro all her life, noted the area is used to quakes but still told the BBC, "I thought I would die," adding that she had "never experienced this big of a jolt."
Authorities say three of the fatalities occurred inside the Aeon shopping mall in Kumamoto city, where some people remain unaccounted for. Tens of thousands of residents have faced power and water outages and at least 45 medical facilities sustained damage. The exterior walls of the 17th century Kumamoto Castle collapsed into a plume of dust and the worship hall of the 19th century Yatsushiro Shrine fell completely.
Those on the ground describe repeated shocks and panic. A cake shop owner who used the name Yui said she could not distinguish "which was the sound of the earthquake and which was the sound of the explosion," and held on to her chair as "big jolts came one after another." Michal Posan, 25, who has lived in Kumamoto for two years, said her TV and mirror smashed and the surrounding roads were damaged, adding there is "no water or food left in the stores."
Responders were dispatched quickly. Takaichi ordered 4,600 personnel to assist with recovery and said teams would work "tirelessly through the night" to assess and monitor damage. Japan's Meteorological Agency warned of continuing risk. Shinji Kiyomoto urged the public to "remain vigilant" and warned, "We cannot rule out the possibility that an even larger quake could follow this time as well."
Kyushu island sits atop a network of active faults, including the Hinagu fault, which runs about 81km through the region. The zone helped produce the deadly 2016 earthquakes that killed 277 people and injured 2,800. Government earthquake research assessments cited in reports say tremors as large as 7.5 could strike the inland section of the Hinagu zone, and a full rupture could reach magnitude 8.
Local owners are trying to salvage livelihoods amid continuing aftershocks. Ogata said she is cleaning the diner to reopen but that repeated tremors force her to stop and slow progress, leaving her "very stressed." Yui's cake shop remains closed as she checks whether equipment such as ovens survived. For now, rescue operations and damage assessments will determine whether businesses can restart and whether the region faces further seismic escalation.
