Strong 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes southern Japan

Tokyo — A major earthquake collapsed buildings and sparked fires in Japan's southwest, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday, with public broadcaster NHK saying at least 50 people were taken to hospitals and local emergency services saying "many" were trapped inside a damaged shopping mall.

Video aired by NHK showed several blazes, damaged bridges, a derailed cargo train and cracked roads after the tremor at the far southern end of Japan's main Kyushu island. The broadcaster reported at least 12 collapsed houses.

The quake at 4:27 p.m. (2:27 a.m. Eastern) had a magnitude of 7.1, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, but reached the highest possible level of seven on Japan's Shindo scale of shaking. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake — one of hundreds that strike Japan every year — at 6.8. The vast majority cause little damage.

"We are still assessing 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."

In "Kashima town, a shopping complex's second floor collapsed, leaving many people trapped inside," the fire department said in a statement. Police said earlier they had received reports of what sounded like an explosion at the Aeon Mall in Kashima, which is in the Kumamoto region, with no information on damage or any casualties.

The JMA initially issued an alert for a possible tsunami of up to three feet, but withdrew the warning after a couple hours.

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 in the region at the time were functioning normally.

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

"Shaking is continuing as I speak. Including myself, there may be some people who feel their hearts racing," the staffer 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."

Kumamoto was hit by two devastating earthquakes in 2016 — one of magnitude 6.5, followed two days later by one of magnitude 7.3 — which killed 273 people and injured more th