00:02A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Japan's southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday afternoon,
00:09knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and damaging buildings.
00:14Authorities said at least 50 people were injured, including some trapped inside a partially
00:19collapsed Aiyan shopping mall, while media reports said several people were presumed
00:24dead.
00:24Japanese Prime Minister Sanai Takaichi said the number of casualties and extent of the
00:30damage in the area are still being assessed.
00:32She told the affected residents to evacuate to temporary relief centers and shelters, and
00:38the numbers are estimated at about 300,000.
00:41Media reports said several people on a high-speed train were also injured, and there was an explosion
00:46at the Aiyan mall.
00:48An Aiyan spokesperson said its customers and employees were evacuated following the initial
00:53quake, and the exact cause of the explosion was unclear.
00:57Several other buildings also caught fire, or were partially collapsed.
01:02Chipmaker TSMC evacuated its workers from its plant in the area as a precaution, while there
01:08were also evacuations at Sony and Fujifilm.
01:11The earthquake's epicenter was about 20 kilometers south of Kumamoto, which is the largest city
01:17in central Kyushu Island.
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