Residents of Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture woke up to collapsed buildings and debris on Wednesday.
The Kyushu region in southwest Japan has experienced more than 100 aftershocks since it was hit Tuesday by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake that killed at least 13 people.
Many others are believed to be in “cardiopulmonary arrest” – a term often used in preliminary reports in Japan before a death is officially confirmed.
Amid scorching heat, rescue teams search through the rubble of a paper factory and shopping mall in Kumamoto Prefecture, searching for trapped survivors. The shopping center suffered an explosion within an hour of the earthquake.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned it was a “true race against time” to save those trapped. Thousands of people are in evacuation centers and many are without power.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) is urging residents to be vigilant in case of stronger earthquakes, public broadcaster NHK reported.
“During the next week, especially the next two or three days, we would like people to pay attention to potential earthquakes with a maximum seismic intensity of 7,” a JMA official said.
Rescuers continue to search through the rubble of the Aeon shopping center in the city of Kashima, where part of the second floor collapsed.
Three people who worked at Aeon Mall stores are still missing, company president Akio Yoshida said.
Footage from the mall showed white smoke rising from the building as people rushed to the parking lot. Large portions of the mall’s exterior were torn away, exposing the steel girders beneath.
Aeon Mall President Akio Yoshida confirmed that three people were killed in the mall explosion, while three others, all working at the mall, were still missing. Some 2,700 people worked at the mall, officials said.
Yoshida said four people were taken to hospital from the mall, adding that one person was rescued from the toilet and another was in cardiopulmonary arrest.
“We sincerely apologize for this incident,” Yoshida said at a news conference Wednesday.
Japan in a ‘race against time’ to save people trapped under rubble after earthquake
Other affected areas include a factory in the town of Yatsushiro, where two people have no signs of life and nine others are missing, NHK reported.
“Even though more than 20 hours have passed since the earthquake, some people still need help,” Takaichi said Wednesday.
More than 4,600 personnel were deployed to assist in the rescue efforts, Takaichi added.
Authorities have advised rescuers and quake survivors to take precautions against heat stroke during clean-up work, as temperatures reach around 35C (95F).
Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi said in an article on X that around 300 air conditioning units would be flown to Kumamoto and distributed to the worst-hit areas.
The JMA measured the earthquake’s magnitude at 7.1 and the US Geological Survey later placed it at 6.8. Earthquake magnitude figures are often updated as seismologists obtain and analyze new data.
The earthquake’s shallow epicenter – with a depth of 10 km (six miles) – was about 20 km south of the city of Kumamoto.
Cleanup efforts have begun as people remove debris from a collapsed gate at a temple in Yatsushiro.
Images broadcast by NHK showed cracked roads and bridges and several buildings on fire. Train services were suspended and electricity cut to thousands of homes.
Residents of Kumamoto Prefecture woke up to the quake on Wednesday, with images showing debris in the streets and collapsed buildings, including the 19th-century Yatshushiro Shrine worship hall.
One resident, Hiroko Ogata, 75, told the BBC she was at the restaurant she runs in the town of Yatsushiro when the earthquake struck.
“All of a sudden there was a big shaking, and I was surprised and scared… I’ve lived here for 75 years, but I’ve never experienced such a strong earthquake. I thought I was going to die.”
American tourist Chantel Mohar was also in Kumamoto with her family when the earthquake struck.
During the trip on the tour bus, everyone’s phones rang with earthquake alerts.
“There was a lot of shaking and confusion,” she told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
