Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows a collapsed storage building of the Shohinken tea house, designated as a national scenic spot, in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after a powerful earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture and its vicinity. (Kyodo)
KUMAMOTO - Emergency crews searched through damaged areas after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture, toppling buildings, disrupting transport networks and prompting evacuation warnings as authorities worked to assess casualties and damage amid sweltering summer heat.
Inside a general hospital in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture:
Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows the inside of a general hospital in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows the entrance of an X-ray room at a general hospital in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows the inside of a general hospital in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)
Also in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture:
Photo taken on July 28, 2026, shows smoke rising from a building in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture, after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows a collapsed house in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)A staff member of a pharmacy in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July 29, 2026, tidies up mess caused by the previous day's powerful earthquake. (Kyodo)
In Yatsushiro in southern Kumamoto Prefecture:
Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows a Nippon Paper Industries Co. plant with its smokestack broken in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, following a powerful earthquake that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture and its vicinity the previous day. (Kyodo)Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows a Nippon Paper Industries Co. plant with its smokestack broken in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, following a powerful earthquake that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture and its vicinity the previous day. (Kyodo)Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a crack in the ground in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, on July 29, 2026, a day after a powerful earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture and its vicinity. (Kyodo)Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows collapsed buildings in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after a powerful earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture and its vicinity. (Kyodo)Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on July 28, 2026, shows a partially collapsed bridge in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on July 28, 2026, shows a cracked expressway in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)
In the neighboring town of Hikawa:
Firefighters conduct search and rescue operations at a collapsed house in Hikawa, Kumamoto Prefecture, on July 29, 2026, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows a damaged road in Hikawa, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)Photo taken on July 29, 2026, shows fallen grave markers in Hikawa, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)
In the prefectural capital of Kumamoto:
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on July 28, 2026, shows a collapsed stone wall at Kumamoto Castle in the city of Kumamoto after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 shook Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. (Kyodo)
In Kashima, adjacent to the capital:
Supplied photo shows smoke rising following an explosion at an Aeon Mall complex in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, after a strong earthquake struck the region on July 28, 2026. (Kyodo)Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on July 29, 2026, shows a destroyed Aeon Mall building in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, a day after an explosion apparently triggered by a gas leak following a powerful earthquake that hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo)Search and rescue operations continue at a destroyed Aeon Mall building in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, on July 29, 2026, a day after an explosion apparently triggered by a gas leak following a powerful earthquake that hit the southwestern Japan prefecture. (Kyodo
