Death toll in Japan earthquake rises to 13 continues
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s Kumamoto region on Kyushu island late Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 13 people and injuring many.
- Rescue work is continuing for those still missing.
- The quake hit the Kumamoto area of Kyushu late Tuesday.
- A shopping mall, factory chimney, train station, and Kumamoto Castle were all damaged.
- Residents have been warned to watch for aftershocks over the next two to three days.
In Kumamoto, the damage has been severe enough to collapse part of a shopping mall, damage a factory chimney, derail a train, and shake people back into the memory of the 2016 disaster.
Kumamoto has lived through a deadly quake before, and residents now find themselves once again listening for aftershocks, checking damaged homes, and waiting for news of relatives. When Hiroki Shimoda said the shaking reminded him of the 2016 quake, that was not just a quote — it was the voice of a community forced to relive trauma it hoped was behind it.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said there are still people waiting to be rescued and described the search as a race against time. Japan’s Self-Defence Forces are helping emergency crews at damaged sites, and relief supplies are being delivered to hard-hit areas. That kind of rapid response matters because in disasters like this, the first hours can decide whether trapped people are found alive.
The damage has touched both people and places. A second-floor collapse at Aeon Mall in Kashima Town trapped people, while a chimney at a Nippon Paper Industries factory also came down. A train derailed at Yatsushiro station, and stone walls at Kumamoto Castle — already wounded in 2016 and still under repair — were damaged again. Even though major infrastructure and nearby nuclear plants reportedly showed no abnormalities, the emotional shock is hard to measure.
There is also a human side to the emergency that goes beyond the headlines. Hospitals in Kumamoto and Yatsushiro received scores of injured people, and more than 9,000 residents were reported in evacuation centers. That means the quake did not just damage buildings; it displaced routines, separated families, and turned ordinary places into waiting rooms for news. Children, older people, workers, and shop owners are all now part of the same long pause between the quake and whatever comes next.
Authorities also urged caution because aftershocks are still a real concern. That warning is especially important in a country that knows how quickly one strong tremor can become a longer emergency. For the people of Kumamoto, the coming days are about more than repair work. They are about sleeping lightly, staying close, and hoping the ground remains still long enough for the rescue effort to catch up with the pain.