At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured in a strong earthquake that struck Japan's southwestern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said early Wednesday, according to state broadcaster NHK.
The magnitude 7.1 tremor also caused extensive damage, including house fires, bridge collapses, and the destruction of steel towers.
It registered 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale — the highest level.
The last quake of that intensity was the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year's Day.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the earthquake as magnitude 7.1 before revising it down to 6.8.
The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) at 4.27 pm local time (0727GMT), about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) east of Uto in Kumamoto, according to the USGS.
Later, a magnitude 5.6 quake took place at 5.08 pm (0808GMT), 16 km (9.9 mi) northeast of Tsunagi, Kumamoto, according to the USGS.
The strong quake caused injuries, power outages, fires, damage to roads and bridges, and building collapses.
According to Kumamoto prefectural officials, 31 people were injured.
The power outage affected about 48,000 households in the prefecture.
