A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan’s Kyushu island on Tuesday afternoon, injuring at least 50 people and triggering a tsunami warning along the country’s southwestern coast.

At least 50 people have been injured, buildings have collapsed and residents trapped in homes across Kyushu island, with over 150,000 people ordered to evacuate and 45,000 households left without power in southern Kumamoto prefecture

At least 50 people have been injured after a powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southwestern Japan on Tuesday, with some buildings collapsing, roads damaged and thousands of households left without electricity.

⚡️ BREAKING: Powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, tsunami warning issued

The first tsunami waves have already reached the coast.

Around 45,600 households have been left without electricity.

There are currently no reports of fatalities or major damage. It is the… pic.twitter.com/1uVvIlD1Pw

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 28, 2026

“We are continuing to assess the extent of injuries and material damage, but I have been informed that there are already a number of injured people. In some areas there have been power outages and fires, roads and bridges have suffered damage, and buildings have collapsed,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters at her office in Tokyo. “Above all, I ask everyone to take steps to protect themselves, such as seeking a safe location.”

One hospital alone reported receiving more than 50 injured patients, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. More than 10 houses have collapsed, and some residents remain trapped inside four of them, the broadcaster said.

Several passengers aboard a high-speed train at the time of the earthquake were also injured, according to the newspaper Nikkei.

The powerful tremor, measured at magnitude 7.1 according to a preliminary estimate, struck Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the country’s national weather and seismic monitoring body. The quake occurred at 4:27pm local time (10:27am Greek time) on the island of Kyushu and reached the maximum level, 7, on the “shindo” scale, the Japanese intensity scale used to measure how strongly an earthquake is felt on the ground, the JMA said. The agency initially issued a warning for a tsunami of up to one metre before later lifting it.

NHK broadcast footage showing collapsed buildings, structures engulfed in fire, large cracks across roads and a derailed freight train. Among the damaged buildings was a shopping centre, where NHK reported an explosion had also occurred and where people remain trapped. More than 150,000 people have been told to move to evacuation centres, Japan’s disaster management agency said.

イオンモール熊本で爆発音 多数が閉じ込めか けが人もhttps://t.co/cc3ru0syKJ#nhk_video pic.twitter.com/KTraNyJ1mR

— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) July 28, 2026

The Japanese government issued emergency earthquake warnings for the prefectures of Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita and Miyazaki, all on the southern island of Kyushu. Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, with a tremor recorded somewhere in the country at least once every five minutes.

No immediate problems have been detected at nuclear power stations in the affected region, Japan’s nuclear regulatory authority said.

Around 45,000 households in Kumamoto prefecture were left without power as a result of the earthquake, according to power utility Kyushu Electric Power, which confirmed that three nuclear reactors in the area continue to operate normally.

“When the earthquake happened, the shaking was so strong I couldn’t stay on my feet,” an NHK staff member in Kumamoto prefecture told state television around half an hour after the quake struck.

Railway operator JR Kyushu said it had suspended its services, including high-speed train routes.

熊本 宇城市と氷川町で震度7 有明・八代海に津波注意報https://t.co/fAoIlTGbTd pic.twitter.com/PPRMcpVtp4

— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) July 28, 2026

Kumamoto Airport closed its runway, with airlines diverting or cancelling flights as a result. Telecommunications companies KDDI and Docomo both reported disruption to their mobile phone services.

NHK reported that the main shock was followed by several aftershocks in the following minutes, with magnitudes of up to 4.5.