Tokyo.- The death toll from the earthquake of magnitude 7.1 that struck southern Japan on Tuesday has risen to thirteen, as confirmed this Wednesday by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
“There are still people waiting to be rescued, so we are facing a real race against time,” the head of the Japanese government declared to the media, before noting that “all available resources” were deployed.
Takaichi assured that, from the moment the earthquake occurred, the Executive acted with the utmost speed to assess the extent of the damage, in close coordination with the competent ministries and agencies.
Call to the population
The Prime Minister highlighted that in addition to human casualties, building collapses, fires, and damage to the road network were recorded. Furthermore, there were interruptions in electricity and water supply.
Amidst the days of extreme heat, Takaichi asked the public and the personnel involved to take all necessary precautions to prevent heatstroke during rescue operations.
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The earthquake was recorded at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT) on Tuesday, and its epicenter was located about ten kilometers deep under Kumamoto Prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which issued a brief tsunami warning.
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The tremor reached the maximum on the Japanese 7-level scale, which focuses on measuring ground shaking and the destructive potential of tremors, and it is the first time this intensity has been recorded since an earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in 2024, which left about four hundred people dead.
