Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Shakes Southern Japan, Tsunami Advisory Issued

An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 shook Kumamoto on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu late Tuesday afternoon and a tsunami advisory was issued, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The agency said the tsunami advisory was for the nearby Ariake Bay on the western coasts of Kumamoto, about 560 miles southwest of Tokyo. The JMA also initially issued a tsunami warning for a wave measuring three feet but later lifted it.

Speaking to reporters at her office in Tokyo, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the extent of casualties and property damage was being assessed.

"We have already been informed that people have been injured," Takaichi said.

"Power outages and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings. Above all, I ask everyone to take action to protect themselves, including evacuating to a safe location."

Public broadcaster NHK showed several buildings on fire or collapsed, large cracks along roads, including an elevated highway, and a derailed goods train. More than 150,000 people were instructed to go to evacuation centres, the disaster management agency said.

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 so far no tsunami has been observed from the inland quake and that the agency plans to lift the advisory relatively soon.

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.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at three nearby nuclear power plants from the temblor.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, evacuated workers from its plant in the area as a precaution, a spokesperson for the firm said.

Kyushu Electric Power said about 40,000 homes had lost power as a result of the latest quake, while railway company JR Kyushu said that it had suspended services, including its high-speed bullet trains. Kumamoto airport also shut its runway, as airlines diverted and cancelled flights.

Telecoms operators KDDI and Docomo said there was disruption to their mobile phone services due to power shortages and transmission-line failures.