According to the latest data from local authorities, updated as of 5:00 a.m. Bulgarian time on July 30, the number of confirmed victims of the powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale, which shook the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu, has reached 18 people.
At least 62 people have been injured, with the condition of six of them remaining critical. Four people are still officially missing.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced to the media that the situation requires immediate action. “There are people still waiting to be rescued, and it is a race against time,“ she stressed. The country's Self-Defense Forces have been mobilized for rescue operations and debris clearance, with international teams, including firefighters from Taiwan, also helping on the spot.
Devastating explosions and collapses in shopping malls
The main damage and most of the victims are concentrated in Kumamoto Prefecture. A serious incident occurred at the Aeon Mall in the city of Kashima. An hour after the initial tremor, a powerful explosion erupted in the building, caused by a subsequent gas leak, which led to the collapse of the second floor. Footage from police cameras distributed by the CNN world network (source: cnn.com/2026/07/28/world/live-news/japan-earthquake-kumamoto), shows total destruction inside the facility, hanging cables and buried workers. Three mall employees were found dead at the scene.
A massive chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries paper mill in the nearby town of Yatsushiro. The incident killed five workers. Rescue teams managed to pull seven people from the rubble of the industrial area.
Infrastructural collapse and humanitarian situation
The earthquake caused severe material damage to key infrastructure:
- Energy grid: Over 34,000 households in the region remain without electricity in the conditions of dangerously hot summer weather. About 15,000 buildings do not have access to running water.
- Transport: The movement of high-speed trains „Shinkansen“ on the island of Kyushu has been completely stopped. Although the runway at Kumamoto Airport was partially opened for emergency flights, mass commercial flights remain canceled.
- Historical Heritage: Part of the stone walls of the famous 400-year-old Kumamoto Castle have collapsed. The process of their reconstruction was underway after the previous major disaster in the region.
Currently, over 9,000 citizens are accommodated in a total of 506 evacuation centers built in the prefecture. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned the population to remain fully prepared for strong aftershocks of similar magnitude in the coming days, increasing the risk of landslides in mountainous areas. Nuclear power plants in the region are operating normally and no abnormalities or radiation leaks have been reported.