Japan earthquake: Dozens missing after 7.1 magnitude quake

NewsThis aerial image shows a partially collapsed bridge after the earthquake in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)undefined/Kyodo News via APAt least two are feared dead and dozens are injured and missing after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday.Officials said many are missing after part of a shopping center and a huge chimney at a paper factory collapsed.According to The Associated Press, a tsunami advisory was issued but quickly lifted.In Kashima Town, the quake collapsed the second floor of the Aeon Mall shopping center, trapping an unknown number of people there, according to the fire department in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto.Four people were pulled out with injuries and taken to a hospital, while 10 others were unaccounted for, the Kumamoto prefectural emergency response team reported. At the Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s Yatsushiro factory, where a chimney collapsed and the building was damaged, 11 people were trapped underneath the debris, the Kumamoto emergency team said. Two of them were later found without vital signs, while the conditions of nine others were unknown, the team said.The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said more than 260,000 people were advised to evacuate, most of them in Kumamoto prefecture, but also in the neighboring Nagasaki prefecture.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Mark Heim is a senior writer who provides sports, news and trending content. He co-hosts a daily sports radio show on WNSP-FM 105.5 in Mobile. Heim has been recognized with awards for his writing, headlines and...