Terrifying moment earthquake strikes Japan

Terrifying videos have emerged showing the power of Japan’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅly earthquake, with shoppers shown running for cover, roads buckling and buildings collapsing. 

Ferocious tremors struck the country on Tuesday, with homes and office blocks seen shaking uncontrollably, a train up-turned and an early tsunami warning issued. 

Rescuers are frantically searching through rubble after an explosion at the Aeon shopping centre in Kashima Town reduced the building to rubble after its second floor collapsed in the immediate aftermath of the quake. 

Officials have warned a ‘considerable number’ of people are ᴅᴇᴀᴅ while others remain trapped.  

Footage on social media shows members of the public running for cover and crouching down on the floor as the ground shook at the shopping centre. 

An unknown number of people are believed to have become trapped in the rubble of the mall, with rescue operations being carried out, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. 

There have also been several reports of injuries and damage to roads, bridges and buildings, as well as blackouts and fire.

Videos on social media showed clouds of smoke billowing into the air as flames engulfed a building, while firefighters scrambled to tackle the blaze. 

Video grab shows clouds of smoke billowing into the air as flames engulf a building

There have been multiple reports of buildings catching fire following the tremor 

Pictured: The section of a collapsed bridge lying in a river in Yatsushiro City after a powerful earthquake struck southern Japan

Costco shoppers run away in fear in the aftermath of the quake 

A separate clip showed the section of a collapsed bridge lying in a river in Yatsushiro City, while another showed how multiple freight wagons were derailed at Yatsushiro Station. 

Sections of the Kyushu Expressway, a major highway linking Fukuoka and Kagoshima, suffered severe damage. 

Footage appeared to show how sections were separated from the main structure following the quake, while separate images showed how parts of the road appeared to have split in two. 

Scenes also showed shoppers screaming inside a Costco supermarket in the aftermath of the tremor. 

Footage shows toppled-over boxed food items, as people climb over knocked-over shelves. 

Large cracks appeared on major roads, including an elevated highway, and a goods train derailed, according to NHK, while rail services were halted and flights grounded. 

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

Sony and Fujifilm also evacuated staff from their plants in the area, Nikkei newspaper reported. 

A Sony spokesperson earlier said it was checking the situation. More than 150,000 people have been instructed to go to evacuation centres, the disaster management agency said.

The Japanese government issued emergency earthquake warnings for Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, and Miyazaki prefectures, all on Japan’s southern Kyushu island.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi earlier said that several injuries, collapsed buildings and fires had been reported.

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Pictures: Shoppers run for cover after the earthquake struck at the Aeon shopping centre in Kashima Town

Screen grab shows toppled-over supermarket after the earthquake struck a Costco store 

Pictured: A damaged building following the earthquake

Pictured: The exterior of the Aeon shopping centre in Kashima Town after its second floor reportedly collapsed 

An aerial view shows the damaged Aeon Mall shopping centre after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture

The shopping centre collapsed, leaving a ‘considerable number’ of people ᴅᴇᴀᴅ

The tremor measured at the highest possible level seven on Japan’s own Shindo scale of shaking

The exterior wall of a restaurant collapsed following the earthquake

An aerial view shows a collapsed part of Kumamoto Castle’s stone walls after an earthquake

‘We are still ᴀssessing the extent of injuries and property damage, but I have been informed that there have already been several injuries,’ Takaichi said.

‘Power outages and fires are happening in some areas, and roads and bridges have been damaged, and buildings collapsed,’ she said. 

Takaichi later told reporters that there have been reports of several injuries and damages to roads, bridges and buildings, as well as blackouts and fire, though details are still unclear. 

Takaichi warned people cooking to be careful with fire and with shards of broken glᴀss. 

One hospital had reported more than 50 injuries, public broadcaster NHK said. Several people on a high-speed train at the time of the quake were also injured, Nikkei newspaper said. 

Residents in the areas that felt the biggest tremors must beware of further strong quakes for about a week as well as the risk of landslides, said an official for the Japan Meteorological Agency

Residents in coastal areas have been urged to move to higher ground and follow official evacuation instructions after a tsunami alert was put in place.

A tsunami advisory for the nearby Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas on the western coasts of Kumamoto and three neighbouring prefectures was temporarily issued but was lifted within two hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

This aerial image shows A section of the Kyushu Expressway damaged by the earthquake is seen in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Monday, July 28, 2026

An aerial view shows a collapsed chimney at Nippon Paper Industries’ Yatsushiro Mill after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture, in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, July 28, 2026

An aerial view shows the damaged Aeon Mall shopping centre, where, according to local media, an explosion occurred after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture

Toppled shelving after an earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1, struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture

The stone walls of the ancient Kumamoto Castle collapsed due to the earthquake. 

No immediate abnormalities were recorded at nuclear power plants, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said.

About 45,000 households and facilities have no power in the Kumamoto region, according to local utility Kyushu Electric Power.

The firm added that three nuclear reactors operating at the time in the region were continuing their normal operations.

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.

The Japanese Defence Ministry said it dispatched aircraft to the area to ᴀssess the situation. 

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

Around half an hour after the quake, a local NHK staffer wearing a helmet reported live on air that the shaking was continuing, with the newsroom shaking so violently it was difficult to remain standing.

‘Shaking is continuing as I speak. Including myself, there may be some people who feel their hearts racing,’ he said.

‘When the quake struck, the shaking was so big that I could not stand up. Please be aware of possibility that shaking might continue after this.’

A quake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit northern Japan on June 25 but caused no deaths or major damage.

Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’.

Bottles of wines are scattered after the magnitude 7.1 strong earthquake hit the region

People stand outside JR Kumamoto Station after the magnitude 7.1 strong earthquake

Damage in an arcade after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Japan

Reporters watch the news showing a large quake and possible one meter tsunami wave in Southern Japan

The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world’s earthquakes.

The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth’s surface at which they strike.

It is haunted by the memory of a mᴀssive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.

On April 20 this year, a tremor measuring 7.7 hit the country’s north, injuring at least 10 people and shaking large buildings in Tokyo.

This prompted authorities to issue a special advisory warning of an increased risk of earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or stronger. The advisory was lifted after a week.

Kumamoto was hit with a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly quake in 2016 that left more than 50 people ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, 1,800 injured and tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.