A powerful earthquake struck Kumamoto on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu late Tuesday afternoon, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to briefly issue a tsunami advisory after recording the quake at magnitude 7.1.
The warning applied to the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas along the western coasts of Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka and Saga prefectures, an area located about 560 miles southwest of Tokyo, the agency said.
Officials lifted the tsunami advisories within two hours.
The U.S. Geological Survey first reported the quake as magnitude 7.1, then later revised its estimate to 6.8.
In a post on X, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged people in affected areas to stay away from the coast after authorities warned that waves could reach up to 3 feet.
Takaichi said the government had established a task force to collect information, evaluate potential damage and get rescue operations ready if they became necessary.
Speaking to reporters later, Takaichi said authorities had received reports of multiple injuries, damage to roads, bridges and buildings, power outages and a fire, though the full extent of the impact remained unclear.
She also cautioned residents who were cooking to watch for fire hazards and to take care around broken glass.
“We are putting people’s lives as the top priority,” Takaichi said, urging residents in the strongly shaken areas to use caution in light of possible strong aftershocks.
Shinji Kiyomoto, JMA’s Earthquake and Tsunami Countermeasures planning officer, told a news conference that the shallow earthquake was triggering active seismic activity in the area, urging residents to especially be cautious over the next two to three days for another big quake. He said, however, that no tsunami was observed from the inland quake.
Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said there were no reports of damage to major public facilities and infrastructure in the region, though authorities were still assessing the extent of damage from the quake. Local fire departments received many emergency calls.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at three nearby nuclear power plants.
Shinkansen bullet trains and local trains in Kyushu have been suspended for safety checks, while the runway at the Aso Kumamoto Airport was closed, with “no prospect of resuming operations” according to a notice on the airport’s website.
The Japanese Defense Ministry said it dispatched aircraft to the area to assess the situation.
Kumamoto was hit with a deadly quake in 2016 that left more than 50 people dead, 1,800 injured and tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.
