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| Above, Kumamoto Station in 2007. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture was rocked Tuesday by a 7.1 earthquake.
Japan is prone to having major earthquakes as it sits on the "Ring of Fire" of the Pacific. In 2010, a major quake hit the Tohoku Region of Japan that caused a huge tsunami.
I visited Kumamoto in April 2007. One of the places I visited was nearby Mount Aso.
According to Japan Today:
TOKYO - A major earthquake rocked Japan's southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and injuring at least 50 people.
Speaking to reporters at her office in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the full extent of casualties and damage from the 7.1 magnitude quake was still being assessed.
"We have already been informed that people have been injured," Takaichi said. "Power outages and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings."
One hospital had reported more than 50 injuries, public broadcaster NHK said. Several people on a high-speed train at the time of the quake were also injured, Nikkei newspaper said.
Multiple buildings were damaged, including an Aeon shopping mall that NHK said had suffered an explosion, while footage from the broadcaster also showed other buildings on fire or partially collapsed. A spokesperson for Aeon did not immediately have a comment on the situation.
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