JAPAN EARTHQUAKE KILLS 13 AS RESCUE TEAMS SEARCH RUBBLE

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern island of Kyushu late on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 13 people according to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Rescue operations continued into Wednesday as authorities searched for missing people trapped beneath collapsed buildings. The Japanese Self Defence Forces joined rescue workers at multiple sites, including a badly damaged Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima Town where the second floor collapsed. Takaichi said rescue teams were in a race against time to locate survivors.

The earthquake was the most powerful to strike the region in a decade. An explosion occurred at the Aeon Mall shortly after the quake, with footage showing the upper section of the main building torn away and partially collapsed. Two women in their 20s were confirmed dead at the mall, and another person suffered cardiac arrest. A chimney also collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro, with two workers found in a state of cardiac arrest and nine others reported missing. Government officials said they were investigating a reported gas leak as the cause of the mall explosion, though the cause remained unclear. Early Wednesday, the government reported that more than 9,000 people had sought refuge in 506 evacuation centres across five prefectures.

The Japanese military mobilised 3,600 personnel for disaster relief operations and deployed 20 aircraft to assess damage. The government was preparing to deliver food, water and other necessities to affected areas as a heatwave with temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius gripped the region. Takaichi urged those affected to exercise caution in the extreme heat whilst rescue efforts continued.