A powerful earthquake registering a magnitude of 7.1 shook Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday, causing part of a shopping center to collapse and leaving dozens of people missing or injured, officials and reports said.

Damage and Injuries

The second floor of the Aeon Mall shopping center in Kashima Town collapsed, trapping an unknown number of people. Around 20 to 30 employees were missing while several other people were dug out and taken to a hospital, Kyodo News agency reported, quoting local police.

The affected area is about 900 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. A tsunami advisory for the Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas on the western coasts of Kumamoto prefecture and three neighboring prefectures was lifted within two hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters there were reports of damage to roads, bridges, and buildings, as well as blackouts and fires, though details were unclear.

Response and Relief Efforts

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said there were no reports of damage to major public facilities or infrastructure. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at three nearby nuclear power plants.

Kyodo said a hospital in Yatsushiro city took in about 40 people with injuries and about 50 others were taken to a hospital in Kumamoto city.

Shinkansen bullet trains and local trains in Kyushu were suspended for safety checks, and the runway at Aso Kumamoto Airport was closed, with “no prospect of resuming operations,” according to a notice on the airport’s website.

Original reporting: KTSA News/Talk (San Antonio) — read the source article.