Powerful Earthquake in Southwestern Japan Kills at Least 13 as a Shopping Mall Collapses

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, killing at least 13 people, with many still missing as rescuers worked through collapsed buildings, the South China Morning Post reported. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed the toll and said the search continued. Among the collapsed structures was a recently reopened Aeon Mall, The Japan Times reported.

Emergency workers were working urgently to find survivors and put out fires within the first 72 hours, the period in which the chance of rescue is highest, while rising summer temperatures complicated the effort, Euronews reported. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the same region in 2016. Reported magnitudes varied between 6.8 and 7.1 across early accounts, reflecting the usual revisions in the hours after a major earthquake.

Kumamoto is home to advanced semiconductor manufacturing, including facilities central to Japan's effort to rebuild domestic chip production, which means the disaster is both a humanitarian emergency and a risk to a globally significant supply chain.