Rescuers search for the missing after Japan earthquake as death toll rises to 13

Japan’s Self Defense Forces joined rescue workers in the search and rescue operations at a badly damaged shopping mall and helped deliver water and transfer the patients. The government is also preparing to deliver delivering food and other necessities to the hard-hit areas, she said.

The quake collapsed the second floor of the Aeon Mall in Kashima Town, trapping people, according to the fire department in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto. Prefectural officials said they are investigating an explosion reportedly from a gas leak.

A chimney collapsed at the Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s Yatsushiro factory, trapping people under the debris, the Kumamoto emergency team said. As of Wednesday, seven people were feared still trapped. Two survivors and two bodies were removed, officials said.

The affected area is about 900 kilometers (540 miles) southwest of Tokyo.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at three nearby nuclear power plants.

Kyodo News said a hospital in the city of Yatsushiro took in about 40 people with injuries and about 50 others were taken to a hospital in Kumamoto city.

Many major manufacturers in Kyushu suspended operations Tuesday but found no major damage and planned to resume work Wednesday.

The runway at Aso Kumamoto Airport was closed, with no immediate word on when it would resume operations.

A train derailed and fell on its side at Yatsushiro station, and stone walls were damaged at Kumamoto Castle, a main tourist destination that was badly damaged in the 2016 quake and is still being repaired, Kyodo said.

“The shaking reminded me of the Kumamoto quake (10 years ago) and I was frightened,” said Hiroki Shimoda, an official at Mifune town hall, who saw roof tiles of nearby homes crash to the ground. Kumamoto was hit with a deadly quake in 2016 that killed at least 50 people.

Shinji Kiyomoto with the Japan Meteorological Agency urged residents to be cautious over the next two to three days due to potential aftershocks.

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Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Rescuers search for the missing after Japan earthquake as death toll rises to 13

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