7.1-magnitude quake hits Japan, leaving 2 dead and dozens missing or injured

TOKYO — A 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook Japan ’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday, leaving dozens of people injured or missing after part of a shopping center and a huge chimney at a paper factory collapsed, officials said. A tsunami advisory was issued but quickly lifted.

There were fears that at least two people were dead.

In Kashima Town, the quake collapsed the second floor of the Aeon Mall shopping center, trapping an unknown number of people there, according to the fire department in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto.

Four people were pulled out with injuries and taken to a hospital, while 10 others were unaccounted for, the Kumamoto prefectural emergency response team said. It said the extent of the damage still was being investigated as the search and rescue effort continued.

At the Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s Yatsushiro factory, where a chimney collapsed and the building was damaged, 11 people were trapped under the debris, the Kumamoto emergency team said. Two were later found without vital signs, while the conditions of nine others were unknown, the team said.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said more than 260,000 people were advised to evacuate, most of them in Kumamoto prefecture, but also in the neighboring Nagasaki prefecture.

The affected area is about 540 miles southwest of Tokyo.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters there were reports of damage to roads, bridges and buildings, as well as blackouts and fires, though details were unclear.

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said there were no reports of damage to major public facilities or infrastructure. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at three nearby nuclear power plants.

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

The quake also affected a number of major manufacturers in Kyushu.

Toyota Motor Corp. said it suspended operations at three factories in Kyushu in part because of safety issues, and that they will reopen Wednesday.

Honda Motor Co. and Nippon Paper also suspended operations, and Yamato Transport Co. stopped delivery services in and out of Kumamoto, the Nikkei business daily said.

Shinkansen bullet trains and local trains in Kyushu were suspended for safety checks, and the runway at Aso Kumamoto Airport was closed, with “no prospect of resuming operations” anytime soon, according to a notice on the airport’s website.

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 Kumamoto quake and still is being repaired, Kyodo said.

“The shaking reminded me of the Kumamoto quake and I was frightened,” said Hiroki Shimoda, an official at Mifune town hall, who saw roof tiles of nearby homes crash to the ground. The 2016 Kumamoto quake left more than 50 people dead.

Yamaguchi writes for the Associated Press.