Overview
- A large, shallow earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday, July 28, with the Japan Meteorological Agency recording magnitude 7.1 and international agencies estimating about 6.8.
- Prefectural officials say at least 36 people have died and dozens were injured, with the biggest losses at the Aeon Mall in Kashima and a Nippon Paper plant in Yatsushiro.
- Rescue operations have shifted to final sweeps after the critical 72-hour window; searches at the paper factory have ended and teams are using sniffer dogs and heavy equipment at the mall.
- Humanitarian needs are acute as roughly tens of thousands lack running water, many evacuees shelter in cars or centres without full cooling, and authorities are delivering generators and air conditioners to shelters.
- The quake has halted or slowed production at auto and semiconductor suppliers, prompting phased resumptions by major firms and raising risks of wider supply-chain disruption as structural and blast investigations proceed.