A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan on July 28, 2026, causing widespread destruction. Around 480,000 households lost electricity, many people were injured, and authorities fear there may be fatalities, although the exact death toll has yet to be confirmed.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, told reporters that authorities were still assessing the full extent of the damage in the region, which is known for frequent earthquakes.
“We have received reports of people being injured. Power outages have occurred in some areas, fires have broken out, roads and bridges have been damaged, and several buildings have collapsed,” Takaichi said.
About 300,000 residents were urged to evacuate to designated emergency shelters as a precaution, while hundreds of soldiers were deployed across the affected areas to assist with rescue and relief operations.
Around 30 employees working inside the largest shopping mall in the prefecture are feared to have been trapped beneath the collapsed structure.
Images from the scene showed one side of the shopping complex, which houses around 200 stores, completely torn apart.
A section of the exhaust system at a paper manufacturing plant operated by Nippon Paper Industries also collapsed. The company said it was continuing to receive injured people.
Many roads were damaged, while numerous train and flight services were suspended. Workers at several factories, including those operated by TSMC, one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, were evacuated for safety.
The earthquake’s epicenter was located about 20 kilometers south of Kumamoto City, one of the largest cities on Kyushu Island, which has a population of more than 700,000.
Reports indicate that more than 48,000 households lost electricity due to the disaster. Kumamoto Airport was temporarily closed, and incoming flights were diverted to other airports. Communication services were also severely disrupted after the earthquake damaged telecommunications infrastructure.
Ten years ago, Kumamoto City was also struck by a major earthquake that claimed 265 lives, injured more than 2,700 people, and caused extensive damage to infrastructure.
