More than 100 aftershocks hit Japan after deadly quake that killed 13
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Japan's Kyushu region has resulted in at least 13 deaths and over 100 aftershocks. Rescue efforts are underway at a collapsed shopping mall and factory, with officials warning of further seismic activity.
Why it matters
This is a major humanitarian crisis requiring urgent search and rescue operations and disaster management in a high-risk seismic zone.
Image source, Reuters Image caption, Residents in Japan's Kumamoto prefecture woke on Wednesday to collapsed buildings and debris
Japan's south-western Kyushu region has had more than 100 aftershocks since it was struck on Tuesday by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake which left at least 13 people dead.
Many others are in "cardiopulmonary arrest" - a term often used in preliminary reports in Japan before a death is officially confirmed.
Amid searing heat, rescue crews are digging through the rubble at a paper factory and a shopping mall in Kumamoto prefecture, looking for trapped survivors. The mall suffered an explosion in the hour after the quake struck.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned it was "truly a race against time" to rescue those trapped. Thousands are in evacuation centres, and many are without power.
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