- The Fire and Disaster Management Agency says many people could be trapped inside the Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima Town. An explosion was reported there following the quake, and the building's second floor has collapsed.
Police say they believe about 20 to 30 people are unaccounted for in the shopping mall. Details of the situation are unclear, and it is not known whether any customers are involved.
Authorities say rescue operations continue.
Footage taken from an NHK helicopter shows parts of the shopping center's exterior walls came off, exposing what appears to be the building's framework.
A taxi driver near the mall reported hearing a loud bang, and the walls were blown away.
The driver said parts of the wall hit a nearby car.
Police say they are fielding reports of several more people unaccounted for in Yatsushiro City.
The reports involve a Nippon Paper factory, which sustained damage, including a collapsed smokestack. Officials say they are investigating the reports.
The quake at 4:27 p.m. (2:27 a.m. Eastern) had a magnitude of 7.1, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, but reached the highest possible level of seven on Japan's Shindo scale of shaking. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake — one of hundreds that strike Japan every year — at 6.8. The vast majority cause little damage.
Multiple people were also believed to be unaccounted for at a Japan Paper Industries factory where the tip of a chimney fell down, NHK reported, citing sources, while the national Kyodo news agency said one person was killed when a house collapsed during the quake.
"We are still assessing the extent of injuries and property damage, but I have been informed that there have already been several injuries," Takaichi said. "Power outages and fires are happening in some areas, and roads and bridges have been damaged and buildings collapsed."
In "Kashima town, a shopping complex's second floor collapsed, leaving many people trapped inside," the fire departmen
