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Japan earthquake death toll rises to 13 as rescue efforts continue in Kumamoto

Photo Kyodo News

By The South Asia Times

TOKYO — The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Japan's southwestern Kumamoto Prefecture has risen to 13, with nearly 10,000 people taking shelter in evacuation centers as rescuers race to find survivors, Kyodo News reported.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday that thousands of emergency personnel had been deployed following Tuesday's magnitude 7.1 earthquake, which was later revised by the US Geological Survey to magnitude 6.8. "There are still people who are waiting to be rescued and it is a race against time," Takaichi said.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said about 4,600 members of the Self-Defense Forces had been mobilized, including 170 personnel involved in rescue operations at a collapsed shopping mall in Kumamoto Prefecture.

The earthquake triggered an explosion at an Aeon-operated shopping mall in Kashima, where part of the second floor collapsed. Local authorities said two women were confirmed dead, another woman was found unresponsive, and five others were injured. Around 200 people had been evacuated before the collapse.

Authorities also reported casualties at a Nippon Paper Industries plant, where a damaged smokestack left two people seriously injured, two unresponsive and seven missing.

Transport and business operations across Kyushu remained heavily disrupted. Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train services were suspended, while several flights were canceled. Power outages affected thousands of households, and major manufacturers, including Honda and Toyota suppliers, temporarily halted production. Logistics companies and postal services also suspended operations in parts of Kumamoto.

The quake registered the maximum intensity of 7 on Japan's seismic scale in parts of Kumamoto, with aftershocks continuing as authorities warned residents to remain vigilant