AT least 13 people have died after Japan was hit by a terrifying 7.1-magnitude earthquake.

Some 19 people are still missing in the wake of the disastrous tremor which has decimated neighbourhoods and ripped bridges apart.

Two women have been found dead at the Aeon Mall in Japan

The gate of Shokyoji Temple collapsed after the strong earthquake on July 28

The explosion happened in Kashima, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan

Two of the deceased, both in their 20s, were discovered as rescue workers scoured the rubble of the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto for bodies following the quake.

During the tremor, the second floor of the shopping centre collapsed, trapping scores of customers and employees.

Several of the missing victims are believed to be mall employees with four already saved from the collapsed building.

But a further 10 people are still unaccounted for at the shopping centre.

Emergency services gathered at the scene

Rescue workers are still looking for survivors

It is not yet clear where the other deaths have happened.

Additionally, two people “were found in cardiac arrest” and nine people are still missing at Nippon Paper’s Yatsushiro Plant.

Some 10,000 people in Kumamoto prefecture have been evacuated, while 36,000 have no power.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned rescuers were in a “race against time” and told rescuers to be aware of heatstroke.

A collapsed shrine at Yatsushiro Castle Ruins

Dust clouds at Kumamoto Castle amid the tremor

The earthquake that shook Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu toppled buildings, sparked fires and injured more than 100.

Multiple people are also believed to be unaccounted for at a factory in Yatsushiro city where the tip of a chimney fell down, NHK reported.

One person was also killed when a house collapsed during the earthquake, Kyodo reported.

NHK aired footage from elsewhere in the southwestern Kumamoto region showing damaged bridges, a derailed cargo train and a number of houses threatening to topple over.

The Aeon mall was damaged by an explosion

The section of the bridge was used by pedestrians and cyclists

Footage showed dust clouds at famous Kumamoto Castle as stone walls appeared to collapse during the quake.

Other videos showed people ducking for cover inside a shopping centre as the building shook.

The Kyushu Expressway was also badly damaged by the earthquake, with two sections crumbled – with a large gap in between.

Chiharu Hara, a 35-year-old recruitment agent who was in Kumamoto, said she was “terrified” when the quake struck.

This aerial image shows a smokestack at Nippon Paper Industries’ Yatsushiro Mill collapsed

The damaged AEON Mall

“The office swayed violently side-to-side. I was afraid it would collapse. Everyone panicked,” Hara said.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government has received multiple reports of injuries, power outages and fires, as well as damage to roads, bridges and buildings.

Meanwhile, around 300,000 people have been urged to go to evacuation centres, and hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to help with rescue operations as aftershocks continued to rumble in the area.

Kyushu Electric Power said about 40,000 homes had lost power, while railway company JR Kyushu said that it had suspended services, including ​its high-speed bullet trains.

A collapsed part of Kumamoto Castle’s stone walls after the earthquake

People stand outside JR Kumamoto Station

Kumamoto airport also shut its runway, as airlines diverted and cancelled flights.

Japan‘s Meteorological Agency said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, but the US Geological Survey revised it later to 6.8.

The earthquake happened at a depth of 6 miles below the sea surface and was followed by several more, some of which reached up to lower 5.

Warnings of waves of up to 3ft were issued, with Takaichi urging people to avoid the coastline. This was later cancelled.

The exterior wall of a restaurant collapsed

Television screens in Osaka, western Japan, show news of an earthquake

Her government has set up a task force to gather information, assess possible damage and prepare for rescue operations if needed.

“We are putting people’s lives as the top priority,” the PM said, also urging residents in the strongly-shaken areas to use caution in light of possible strong aftershocks.

Kumamoto was hit with a deadly quake in 2016 that killed more than 50 people dead, 1,800 injured and tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.

Officials said there were no immediate abnormalities recorded at Japan’s nuclear power plants after the quake.

A quake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit northern Japan on June 25 but caused no deaths or major damage.

Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of jolts every year and accounts for about 18 per cent of the world’s earthquakes.

The majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth’s surface at which they strike.

In 2011, a huge 9.0-magnitude undersea quake triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.

On April 20 this year, a 7.7 tremor hit the country’s north, injuring at least 10 people and shaking large buildings in Tokyo.

It prompted authorities to issue a special advisory warning of an increased risk of earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or stronger. The advisory was lifted after a week.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16756944/japan-earthquake-tsunami-alert/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=sunusnewsfacebook&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawTWPSNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFtTWp6RUt1UjkyOTFITDRXc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHnIeKjLB8sXLLKVxhCeomJRYEn9tPrpwtAptpr-5lbWugN-EpkkwEdGfuIUH_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw