At least 13 dead and dozens still missing in Japan earthquake as shopping centre collapses
Authorities are frantically hunting for survivors after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday night
As least 13 people have died and after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook Japan which tore apart a shopping centre.
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Authorities are frantically searching for survivors of the quake, which hit southern Japan on Tuesday night leaving more than 36,000 homes without power.
Eight people were pulled from the rubble of the partially collapsed Aeon shopping mall in Kumamoto which was ripped apart, three of whom have died.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the hunt for survivors as "a race against time" and pledged to mobilise "all available resources" to "save and rescue as many people as possible".
Authorities are also investigating a possible gas explosion at the mall, as rescuers reported smelling gas inside the building.
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Of the shopping centre's 2700 staff, four people are still said to be missing.
Fire rescue teams, police and around 170 army personnel have been called to the mall, while more than 4,500 soldiers have been deployed across affected areas of the region.
Seven people are also missing after a chimney collapsed at a paper factory, with four others seriously injured.
The epicentre of the earthquake was about 20 km south of Kumamoto City, central Kyushu's largest city with a population of around 700,000.
In nearby Yatsushiro city — among the hardest-hit areas — many homes had damaged roofs and a handful of collapsed buildings lay scattered.
Roads leading to this coastal town were cracked and buckled in places, and many businesses remained shuttered.
Part of a bridge had collapsed into the Kumagawa River, drawing a steady trickle of curious residents to the site.
Authorities have warned residents in the areas that felt the biggest tremors to be on alert for further strong quakes for about a week, as well as for the risk of landslides.
Some major companies with plants in the area, including Renesas Electronics, Sony and Honda have suspended operations at their plants.
Toyota Motor also said it would suspend work at three factories outside Kumamoto prefecture through Friday in consideration of the situation at suppliers.
A massive earthquake in Kumamoto 10 years ago killed 275 people and injured a further 2,739, according to an official count, and damaged thousands of buildings including the walls of the city's castle, a top tourist site.
The castle was also among several historic buildings damaged in Tuesday's quakes alongside shrines with heavy tiled roofs that partially collapsed and a 17th-century tea house.