People are trapped inside a shopping mall that was damaged in a major earthquake today in southwestern Japan, emergency services have said.
In “Kashima town, a shopping complex’s second floor collapsed, leaving many people trapped inside,” the local fire department said in a statement.
Earlier, police said they had received reports of what sounded like an explosion at the Aeon Mall outlet in the Kumamoto region, but were unable to supply additional information on damage or any casualties.
The reports come after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit southern Japan.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the earthquake had a depth of 10km and hit the country’s Kumamoto prefecture at 4.27pm local time (8.27am BST).
The tremor measured at the highest possible level seven on Japan’s Shindo scale of shaking, the agency said. While the agency initially issued a tsunami warning for a wave measuring one metre, it has since rescinded that.
In 2016, Kumamoto was hit by two devastating earthquakes – one of magnitude 6.5, followed by one of magnitude 7.3 two days later – which killed 273 people and injured over 2,800 others.
