Live: 'Many people' trapped in mall collapse after 7.1 earthquake in Japan
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Kumamoto, Japan, has resulted in at least 13 deaths and widespread destruction. Rescue operations are ongoing as authorities investigate a potential gas explosion at a collapsed shopping mall.
Why it matters
Natural disasters of this magnitude have severe humanitarian and economic consequences, requiring immediate international attention.
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake killed at least 13 people near the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto and rescuers are frantically searching for survivors trapped beneath the rubble, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says.
"Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race against time. We will marshall all available resources on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible," Takaichi told reporters at her office in Tokyo a day after the quake struck, raising the toll from three deaths reported earlier.
The quake knocked out power to thousands of homes and ruptured roads across the region. Rescuers pulled eight people from the rubble of a partially collapsed shopping mall early on Wednesday (all times local). Two women in their 20s were killed as an apparent explosion of unknown origin ripped the mall apart about an hour after the earthquake.
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