After a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan, 13 people died.
According to a government source who spoke to the Kyodo news agency, a gas explosion appears to have destroyed the mall in the town of Kashima, causing walls and ceilings to collapse.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reported that a significant earthquake in Japan on Tuesday claimed 13 lives."Thirteen people have passed away," Takaichi reported on Wednesday.
According to a government source who spoke to the Kyodo news agency, a gas explosion appears to have destroyed the mall in the town of Kashima, causing walls and ceilings to collapse.A representative for the mall's operator, Aeon, told AFP that the explosion happened after the patrons and employees had left.
Five of the eight persons who were rescued from the mall had injuries, a local official said AFP.
According to authorities reported by broadcaster NHK early on Wednesday, the number was "lower than that" despite early reports that suggested up to 20 to 30 individuals were trapped within.The precise figure is unknown. Police were cited by NHK as saying, "It is certain that staff members are trapped, but it is unclear whether any members of the public are among them."
They also stated that there hasn't been a safe way to enter the building, thus it hasn't been feasible thus far.
The local administration said that nine persons were missing from the Nippon Paper Industries plant in Yatsushiro, where a smokestack partially collapsed.
According to officials, 36,880 homes and businesses in Kumamoto, which was struck by two earthquakes in a row in 2016 that claimed 273 lives, were without power on Wednesday morning.
The strong earthquake occurred on Tuesday around 4:27 p.m. (0727 GMT), and the US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude of 6.8 at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).
The earthquake caused a number of fires, buildings to fall, bridges to sustain damage, including a portion of a pedestrian walkway that fell into a river, and a freight train to capsize.
Recruitment agent Chiharu Hara, 35, told AFP that she was "terrified" when the earthquake occurred when she was in Kumamoto.The office shook strongly from side to side. I feared it would crumble. Everyone became terrified," Hara remarked.
Footage verified by AFP showed heavy vehicles, street lights and traffic lights swaying. Elsewhere, vehicles on a two-lane road were seen carefully navigating sections of buckled pavement.
Security cameras wobbled violently.
Footage also showed parts of a wall at the centuries-old Kumamoto Castle collapsing.
Many roads were closed and high-speed shinkansen train services were suspended in the region. Kumamoto airport was closed for several hours before re-opening on Tuesday evening.
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.
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 percent 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.
Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.
According to a government source who spoke to the Kyodo news agency, a gas explosion appears to have destroyed the mall in the town of Kashima, causing walls and ceilings to collapse.A representative for the mall's operator, Aeon, told AFP that the explosion happened after the patrons and employees had left.
Five of the eight persons who were rescued from the mall had injuries, a local official said AFP.
According to authorities reported by broadcaster NHK early on Wednesday, the number was "lower than that" despite early reports that suggested up to 20 to 30 individuals were trapped within.The precise figure is unknown. Police were cited by NHK as saying, "It is certain that staff members are trapped, but it is unclear whether any members of the public are among them."
They also stated that there hasn't been a safe way to enter the building, thus it hasn't been feasible thus far.
The local administration said that nine persons were missing from the Nippon Paper Industries plant in Yatsushiro, where a smokestack partially collapsed.
According to officials, 36,880 homes and businesses in Kumamoto, which was struck by two earthquakes in a row in 2016 that claimed 273 lives, were without power on Wednesday morning.
The strong earthquake occurred on Tuesday around 4:27 p.m. (0727 GMT), and the US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude of 6.8 at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).
The earthquake caused a number of fires, buildings to fall, bridges to sustain damage, including a portion of a pedestrian walkway that fell into a river, and a freight train to capsize.
Recruitment agent Chiharu Hara, 35, told AFP that she was "terrified" when the earthquake occurred when she was in Kumamoto.The office shook strongly from side to side. I feared it would crumble. Everyone became terrified," Hara remarked.
Footage verified by AFP showed heavy vehicles, street lights and traffic lights swaying. Elsewhere, vehicles on a two-lane road were seen carefully navigating sections of buckled pavement.
Security cameras wobbled violently.
Footage also showed parts of a wall at the centuries-old Kumamoto Castle collapsing.
Many roads were closed and high-speed shinkansen train services were suspended in the region. Kumamoto airport was closed for several hours before re-opening on Tuesday evening.
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.
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 percent 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.
Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.
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