Kumamoto - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on July 29 that 13 people had died following the powerful earthquake that registered the maximum seismic intensity of 7 in Kumamoto Prefecture, including cases still being investigated for a possible connection to the disaster.
Takaichi disclosed the toll while speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, saying extensive damage had been confirmed across the affected area.
"As of 8:30 a.m. today, 13 people have died, including deaths whose connection to the disaster is still under investigation, while widespread damage has been confirmed, including injuries, collapsed buildings, fires and damaged roads," Takaichi said.
She offered condolences to the victims and their families.
"I offer my sincere prayers for those who lost their lives and extend my deepest condolences to their bereaved families," she said.
Takaichi announced that the government would hold a second meeting of its emergency disaster response headquarters from 1:30 p.m. on July 29.
She said ministries and government agencies were coordinating their initial response and stressed that rescue operations remained a race against time.
"There are still people waiting to be rescued, and we are fighting against the clock," Takaichi said. "We will mobilize every available resource at the scene to save and rescue as many people as possible."
The shallow earthquake occurred at 4:27 p.m., with its epicenter in the Kumamoto region at a provisional depth of 16 kilometers, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The strongest shaking, an intensity of 7, was recorded in Uki City and Hikawa Town. An intensity of upper 6 was observed in Kumamoto City, Yatsushiro, Uto, Misato and Mashiki, while an intensity of lower 6 was recorded in Kamiamakusa, Koshi, Ozu, Nishihara, Mifune and Ashikita.
Strong tremors spread well beyond Kumamoto. An intensity of upper 5 was recorded in parts of Nagasaki and Kagoshima prefectures, while lower 5 shaking was observed in parts of Fukuoka, Saga and Miyazaki as well as additional areas of Nagasaki and Kagoshima.
The earthquake was followed almost immediately by further strong tremors. An aftershock at about 4:29 p.m. registered an intensity of lower 5 in Uki, while another at 5:08 p.m. produced lower 5 shaking in Yatsushiro, Kamiamakusa, Amakusa, Misato and Ashikita. A third intensity lower 5 earthquake struck Uki at about 7:03 p.m.
By 9 p.m., 31 earthquakes measuring intensity 3 or higher had been recorded since the main shock, including the initial intensity 7 quake, three intensity lower 5 tremors, seven intensity 4 earthquakes and 20 measuring intensity 3.
Authorities warned that buildings weakened by the initial shock could collapse during aftershocks and that slopes made unstable by the shaking could fail, particularly if rain falls. Landslide warning thresholds were temporarily lowered across heavily affected parts of Kumamoto, Nagasaki and Kagoshima prefectures.
A tsunami advisory was issued for the Ariake Sea and Yatsushiro Sea at 4:29 p.m., with residents urged to leave coastal areas and avoid rivers connected to the sea. The advisory was lifted at 6:10 p.m. after no destructive tsunami was reported.
One of the most serious incidents occurred at a large shopping center in Kashima Town, where part of the second floor collapsed and numerous people were trapped. Firefighters from the local department and Kumamoto City were sent to the site under a mutual assistance agreement as rescue teams searched the damaged structure.
Reports indicated that an explosion may also have occurred inside the complex after the earthquake. The cause had not been established, although investigators were examining whether damaged gas equipment or leaking gas could have been involved.
In Yatsushiro, a chimney collapsed at a paper factory, prompting another large rescue operation. Emergency crews were attempting to locate workers believed to have been caught beneath the structure.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported rescue operations in Uki, Hikawa, Kumamoto City, Yatsushiro, Uto, Misato, Mifune, Kashima and Kosa. Fires were reported in several areas, including two in Uki, four in Kumamoto City and two in Yatsushiro. All four fires in Kumamoto City were extinguished, while firefighting operations continued elsewhere.
The official casualty count remained provisional as authorities struggled to compile reports from the worst-hit communities. Hospitals received scores of injured residents, while rescue operations continued at collapsed buildings and industrial facilities. Communications problems and damage to emergency dispatch systems in Yatsushiro also complicated efforts to establish the full scale of the disaster.
More than 260,000 people in Kumamoto and Nagasaki prefectures were covered by evacuation instructions during the initial emergency. Many residents remained outside their homes or gathered at evacuation centers because of continuing aftershocks and fears that damaged structures could collapse.
Kumamoto Prefecture established a disaster response headquarters immediately after the earthquake. Governor Takashi Kimura said the prefecture was working with the Self-Defense Forces, police and fire departments to determine the extent of the damage and protect residents.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ordered government ministries and agencies to gather information rapidly, provide accurate information to the public, support local governments and place the highest priority on saving lives. Government personnel were dispatched to Kumamoto, and emergency firefighting units were mobilized from prefectures across western Japan.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency requested assistance from emergency teams in Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, Miyazaki, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi and Kagoshima prefectures. Firefighting helicopters and command units were also sent to support aerial surveys, rescues and the transportation of personnel.
The Disaster Relief Act was applied to 21 municipalities, including Kumamoto City, Yatsushiro, Uki, Uto, Amakusa, Mashiki, Ozu, Kikuyo, Nishihara, Kashima, Hikawa and Ashikita, allowing national and local authorities to provide emergency shelter, food, medical care and other assistance.
The earthquake severely disrupted water supplies. Yatsushiro reported a citywide outage affecting about 60,000 households, while approximately 10,000 households lost water in Hikawa. Numerous leaks and outages were reported in Uki, with additional disruptions in Uto, Mifune, Ashikita, Kumamoto City and other municipalities.
Water supply problems also emerged outside Kumamoto, including an outage affecting about 700 households in Minamishimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture. The Japan Water Works Association sent advance teams and arranged for water trucks to be dispatched without waiting for formal requests from affected municipalities.
Electricity was cut to tens of thousands of households, and telecommunications services were disrupted in some areas. Authorities urged residents to conserve mobile phone batteries and use emergency message services when possible.
Road networks across Kyushu were closed for safety inspections and because of damage. Twenty-nine sections on four expressways were temporarily shut, including parts of the Kyushu Expressway, Minami-Kyushu Expressway, Miyazaki Expressway and Kyushu Chuo Expressway.
National Route 3 was closed in Hikawa after a difference in road surface levels developed, while sections of the reconstructed northern route of National Route 57 between Ozu and Aso were also closed. Rockfalls forced closures on roads in neighboring Miyazaki Prefecture.
Damage was found at Yatsushiro Port, where liquefaction, subsidence and differences in ground level developed behind a wharf. A ferry loading bridge at Kumamoto Port was damaged and could not be used. Cracks were also found at a shipbuilding facility, and one ferry operator reported damage to a vessel, although no injuries were reported in those incidents.
The Kyushu Shinkansen was suspended along its entire route while inspections were carried out. Service was also halted on numerous conventional railway lines, including sections of the Hohi Main Line and Misumi Line.
JR Kyushu canceled operations between Kumamoto and Higo-Ozu, Higo-Ozu and Miyaji, and Miyaji and Bungo-Taketa for the remainder of July 28. Trains between Uto and Misumi were also canceled for the day.
No immediate structural damage to railway facilities had been confirmed by late evening, but inspections continued because tracks, bridges, tunnels and electrical equipment can sustain damage that is not visible immediately after severe shaking.
Aso Kumamoto Airport recorded an intensity of lower 6. The runway was temporarily closed but reopened at 7:05 p.m. after inspections. A power outage and elevator disruption inside the terminal were restored, although an injury was reported in the building.
Twenty-nine flights scheduled to use Kumamoto Airport after the earthquake were canceled. Two flights were canceled at Amakusa Airport, where settling was found around a precision approach path indicator used to guide aircraft during landing.
Bus services were also heavily affected. Thirty-one highway bus routes operated by eight companies were suspended, mainly on services connecting Kumamoto and Fukuoka. Three operators halted all local bus services in Kumamoto Prefecture, while delivery companies suspended or delayed collections in affected areas.
The earthquake interrupted manufacturing operations across Kyushu as companies evacuated workers and inspected factories. Semiconductor, automobile and electronics plants in the region halted production or activated emergency procedures to check buildings, equipment and supply systems.
Kumamoto has developed into a major center for semiconductor production, with facilities operated by Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing and Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, the local subsidiary majority-owned by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The concentration of chip plants has increased the economic importance of the region and raised concerns about possible disruption to domestic and international supply chains.
Companies initially reported that employees had been accounted for at major semiconductor facilities, but detailed inspections were continuing. Even where buildings remain structurally intact, semiconductor production can be disrupted by movement of precision equipment, contamination of clean rooms or interruptions to electricity, water and industrial gases.
Kumamoto Castle, which was undergoing long-term reconstruction after suffering extensive damage in 2016, was again affected. The castle was closed while authorities examined its stone walls, towers and restored structures.
The quake struck little more than 10 years after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, one of Japan's most destructive inland earthquake disasters in recent decades.
On April 14, 2016, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake registering intensity 7 struck the region. It was initially considered the main shock, but a larger magnitude 7.3 earthquake followed on April 16, also producing intensity 7 shaking and causing destruction across Kumamoto and the Aso region.
The 2016 disaster ultimately claimed 275 lives, including 50 direct deaths and 225 disaster-related deaths. Another 2,739 people were injured.
A total of 8,657 homes were destroyed, 34,489 were seriously damaged and 155,239 sustained partial damage. At the peak of the emergency, 183,882 people, roughly one-tenth of Kumamoto Prefecture's population, were staying in official evacuation centers.
The disaster destroyed parts of Kumamoto Castle, caused the Aso Ohashi bridge to collapse and triggered landslides that cut major roads and railway lines through the mountainous Aso region. Restoration projects continued for years, and some work remained unfinished when the July 28 earthquake struck.
The experience of 2016 has made residents particularly cautious about assuming that the largest earthquake has already occurred. The stronger main shock in that sequence came nearly 28 hours after the first intensity 7 earthquake, overturning early expectations and prompting Japan's meteorological authorities to change how they communicate the risk of subsequent earthquakes.
Rather than describing an initial major earthquake as the main shock before the sequence is understood, authorities now warn that another earthquake of similar or greater strength may follow.
The July 28 earthquake occurred during intense summer heat, creating an additional threat for people staying in evacuation centers, vehicles or outdoor areas. Temperatures in Kumamoto were forecast to approach 35 degrees Celsius on July 29, followed by several days of extreme heat through early August.
Authorities warned evacuees to drink water regularly, use air conditioning where available and watch for symptoms of heatstroke. They also urged people sleeping in vehicles to move their legs frequently and avoid remaining in the same position for long periods because of the risk of blood clots.
Residents were advised not to enter damaged buildings, touch fallen electrical wires or use flames where gas leaks may have occurred. Officials also cautioned people against spreading unverified information online as rescue operations and damage assessments continued.
The full scale of the disaster was expected to become clearer after daylight on July 29, when aerial surveys and ground inspections could reach areas that had been difficult to assess during the night. Rescue operations remained concentrated on collapsed buildings, while authorities faced the broader task of restoring water, electricity, transport and communications across a region once again confronted by a major earthquake.
Source: FNN
