Overview
- A very strong, shallow earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday, July 28, with the Japan Meteorological Agency giving a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 and recording the maximum Shindo intensity of 7 in parts of Kyushu.
- The JMA issued a tsunami advisory for nearby coasts that forecast waves up to about one metre and lifted the advisory within two hours after no significant tsunami developed.
- Officials say dozens of people were injured and emergency services are responding to major local damage, including an explosion and partial collapse at an Aeon shopping mall where people were trapped and sections of Kumamoto Castle’s stone walls fell.
- Infrastructure was widely hit with roughly 40,000 households losing power, Shinkansen and regional rail services suspended for inspections, airports and roads disrupted, and several factories temporarily evacuated while nuclear plants reported no abnormalities.
- The national government has deployed rescue teams and the Self-Defense Forces for search-and-rescue and damage assessment while the JMA warns of active seismicity and likely strong aftershocks over the next days that raise landslide and safety risks.