Japan’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake death toll rises to 13

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the death toll from a powerful earthquake in Japan has risen to 13. He confirmed the information on Wednesday (July 29). AP News reported this news.
Prime Minister Takaichi said that search and rescue operations were underway overnight to rescue the missing. He said that in addition to the dead, many others were injured and several were still missing.
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday afternoon (July 28). After the earthquake, part of a shopping center collapsed. It is initially believed that the collapse was caused by a gas leak. In addition, a large chimney of a paper factory also collapsed.
According to the country’s fire department, several people were trapped when the second floor of the Aeon Mall in the city of Kashima collapsed. Meanwhile, a chimney collapsed at Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s Yatsushiro factory. The Kumamoto emergency rescue team said several people were trapped under the rubble. Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said more than 260,000 people had been advised to evacuate, most of them in Kumamoto Prefecture. Evacuation orders were also issued in neighboring Nagasaki Prefecture. The quake-hit area is about 900 kilometers southwest of the Japanese capital, Tokyo.