A Japan earthquake measuring magnitude 7.1 struck Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu region on Tuesday at 4:35 p.m. The quake reached shindo 7 in Uki and Hikawa, and authorities issued a tsunami advisory for coastal areas of the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas.
Electricity was out for about 48,300 households in Kumamoto Prefecture, and an aftershock of up to a weak 5 followed about 30 minutes later. Sanae Takaichi urged people in the quake-hit areas to remain vigilant for the possibility of another earthquake of similar magnitude, while the government said tsunami waves of approximately 1 meter were expected.
Uki, Hikawa, and nearby cities
The quake’s epicenter was in Uki, just south of Kumamoto, at a depth of 10 kilometers. A rare shindo 7 was observed in Uki and Hikawa, while a strong 6 on the shindo scale was observed in Yatsuhiro and Uto, Mashiki and Misato, and Kumamoto’s Minami Ward.
Other cities in Kumamoto and the neighboring prefectures of Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga and Miyazaki felt strong shaking of lower 5 or stronger on the Japanese scale. That spread shows how far the shaking reached beyond the epicenter, even before damage checks were complete.
Minoru Kihara on nuclear plants
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that no abnormalities had been detected at the country’s nuclear power plants, including the Sendai facility in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. For residents near the coast, the immediate issue remained the tsunami advisory and the expectation of waves of approximately 1 meter.
Kihara’s statement leaves two practical priorities for affected households: follow coastal alerts and watch for further shaking. Sanae Takaichi also said people should stay alert for another quake of similar size, a warning that comes as crews continue assessing damage and outages across Kumamoto Prefecture.
2016 Kumamoto aftermath
The last time Kumamoto faced damage on this scale, in April 2016, two earthquakes left 278 people dead and injured another 2,800. Kumamoto Castle sustained heavy damage in those quakes, and restoration work is not due to be completed until 2052.
That history hangs over this event, especially for households already dealing with the blackout and the possibility of another strong aftershock. The immediate question for Kumamoto is how much damage and how many injuries the Tuesday quake caused as authorities finish their checks.
