Kumamoto quake: about 300,000 directed to evacuation centres as TSMC completes structural inspection of its plant

The scale of the damage from the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Japan's Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, 28 July 2026 (6 Mordad 1405), has become clearer. Al Jazeera, citing broadcaster NHK and the AP and Reuters news agencies, reported that an explosion believed to have been triggered by a gas leak at an Aeon shopping mall in the city of Kumamoto collapsed the building's second floor. Police said several people are presumed to have been killed and 20 to 30 workers were unaccounted for; one hospital reported more than 50 injuries and another around 40, including 10 in a serious condition.

Japan's disaster management agency said about 300,000 people had been instructed to go to evacuation centres. Kyushu Electric Power reported power cuts to some 48,000 homes, railway operator JR Kyushu suspended services including its Shinkansen bullet trains, and the runway at Aso Kumamoto Airport was closed.

On the industrial side, TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said the safety of all personnel at its Kumamoto site had been confirmed and post-earthquake structural inspections completed, though its impact assessment continues. Sony and Fujifilm evacuated staff from their plants in the area, and a chimney collapsed at Nippon Paper's Yatsushiro factory. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at three nuclear power plants near the area.