Rescuers search for survivors after a 7.1 quake kills 18 in southwestern Japan - AP News

What the report says

Associated Press reported that soldiers and emergency crews were searching damaged buildings in southwestern Japan after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kyushu on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people. The rescue effort on Wednesday focused on collapsed homes and the Aeon Mall in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, where part of the shopping center gave way after the quake.

According to AP, Aeon said about 3,000 customers had been moved to a parking lot before a gas explosion occurred in another section of the mall, where some workers remained. Officials said the mall’s second floor collapsed, trapping people. Reports cited by AP said dozens of people were missing or injured after the quake, though the available article text does not provide a final accounting of those unaccounted for.

The damage extended beyond the mall. AP photos and captions described crushed vehicles and collapsed buildings in Yatsushiro, damage inside a resident’s home in Kumamoto, and a damaged chimney at Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s Yatsushiro factory. A tsunami advisory was issued after the quake but was lifted quickly, AP reported.

The disaster is significant because Kyushu, like much of Japan, sits in a seismically active region where strong earthquakes can threaten densely used public spaces, homes and industrial sites. AP noted that many residents were reminded of an earthquake in the same broader area 10 years earlier that killed 50 people. Rescue operations were continuing as authorities worked to locate survivors and assess the full scale of the damage.