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24 July 2026
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Earthquake struck Japan’s southwestern island of Kyushu
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A powerful magnitude 7.1 (revised to 6.8 by USGS) earthquake struck Japan’s southwestern island of Kyushu on Tuesday, 28 July 2026, leaving at least 34 people dead, dozens injured, and thousands displaced. The tremor struck at 4:27 p.m. local time at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre located in the Kumamoto prefecture. Emergency responders and military personnel are currently in a "race against time" to rescue survivors trapped under collapsed buildings, navigating intense aftershocks and extreme summer heat.
Aeon Mall Explosion
At the Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima, the second floor partially collapsed shortly after the quake. About an hour later, a massive suspected gas leak triggered a major explosion that tore away walls and exposed steel framework, killing several store workers who had briefly re-entered the building. Separately, all 25 cats from the mall’s cat café were safely rescued).
Factory collapse
At the Nippon Paper factory in Yatsushiro, a chimney and parts of the building collapsed. At least eight workers died at the scene, and rescue teams continue to comb through the heavy industrial rubble.
Historical damage
Heavy shaking partially collapsed a stone wall at the historic Kumamoto Castle, which had previously undergone extensive repairs following the region's devastating 2016 earthquakes.
The earthquake buckled expressways, fractured bridges, and completely severed power and water lines. More than 23,000 homes remain without electricity and 75,000 lack running water.
Over 15,000 residents are sheltering in emergency evacuation centres across the prefecture. Daily life inside these shelters has become gruelling due to an intersecting heatwave, with outdoor temperatures soaring past 35 degrees Celsius.
The Japan Self-Defence Forces have deployed water tankers and are air-lifting around 300 industrial air conditioning units to cooling shelters to mitigate the rising risk of heatstroke among survivors and emergency workers.
All Kyushu shinkansen bullet train services were suspended, and Kumamoto Airport indefinitely closed its runway following the initial tremor. Major semiconductor and automotive hubs in Kyushu—crucial to global tech supply chains—have halted operations out of precaution. Toyota paused operations at three manufacturing plants, Honda suspended its motorcycle plant, and tech giants like Sony and Tokyo Electron idled regional factories while conducting structural safety audits.
Nuclear power safety
Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority confirmed that no irregularities or abnormalities were detected at the nearby Sendai Nuclear Power Plant or other regional nuclear facilities.
More than 100 aftershocks were recorded following the earthquake. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of the possible occurrence of earthquakes with a maximum seismic intensity of 7 for the next two to three days following the initial tremor.
Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said more than 4,600 personnel had been deployed to help with rescue efforts. Authorities issued advice on heatstroke in the area as temperatures reached 35°C. Defence Minister Shinjirō Koizumi said about 300 air conditioning units would be sent to the worst-hit areas.
Sources: BBC, CNN, The Guardian, AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera
Aeon Mall Explosion
At the Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima, the second floor partially collapsed shortly after the quake. About an hour later, a massive suspected gas leak triggered a major explosion that tore away walls and exposed steel framework, killing several store workers who had briefly re-entered the building. Separately, all 25 cats from the mall’s cat café were safely rescued).
Factory collapse
At the Nippon Paper factory in Yatsushiro, a chimney and parts of the building collapsed. At least eight workers died at the scene, and rescue teams continue to comb through the heavy industrial rubble.
Historical damage
Heavy shaking partially collapsed a stone wall at the historic Kumamoto Castle, which had previously undergone extensive repairs following the region's devastating 2016 earthquakes.
The earthquake buckled expressways, fractured bridges, and completely severed power and water lines. More than 23,000 homes remain without electricity and 75,000 lack running water.
Over 15,000 residents are sheltering in emergency evacuation centres across the prefecture. Daily life inside these shelters has become gruelling due to an intersecting heatwave, with outdoor temperatures soaring past 35 degrees Celsius.
The Japan Self-Defence Forces have deployed water tankers and are air-lifting around 300 industrial air conditioning units to cooling shelters to mitigate the rising risk of heatstroke among survivors and emergency workers.
All Kyushu shinkansen bullet train services were suspended, and Kumamoto Airport indefinitely closed its runway following the initial tremor. Major semiconductor and automotive hubs in Kyushu—crucial to global tech supply chains—have halted operations out of precaution. Toyota paused operations at three manufacturing plants, Honda suspended its motorcycle plant, and tech giants like Sony and Tokyo Electron idled regional factories while conducting structural safety audits.
Nuclear power safety
Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority confirmed that no irregularities or abnormalities were detected at the nearby Sendai Nuclear Power Plant or other regional nuclear facilities.
More than 100 aftershocks were recorded following the earthquake. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of the possible occurrence of earthquakes with a maximum seismic intensity of 7 for the next two to three days following the initial tremor.
Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said more than 4,600 personnel had been deployed to help with rescue efforts. Authorities issued advice on heatstroke in the area as temperatures reached 35°C. Defence Minister Shinjirō Koizumi said about 300 air conditioning units would be sent to the worst-hit areas.
Sources: BBC, CNN, The Guardian, AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera
