Quake death toll climbs to 18 as search continues

TOUGH CONDITIONS: More than 8,800 residents sought refuge as utilities failed and crews, including some from Taiwan, helped searched for survivors AP and Reuters, KUMAMOTO and YATSUSHIRO, Japan Add TT as Preferred Source Soldiers and emergency workers yesterday combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed

The 7.1-magnitude earthquake caused significant destruction on Tuesday in Kumamoto, in the southwest of the archipelago. The death toll, which currently stands at at least 13, may rise further following a powerful explosion at a shopping mall.

The death toll from a strong earthquake that struck southwestern Japan climbed to 13 on Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.

Dozens more remain trapped underneath the rubble as authorities race against the clock to save as many people as possible during the critical 72 hour rescue period. The tremor is the most powerful to hit the region in 10 years since a 7.0 magnitude quake recorded in 2016.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake killed at least 13 people near the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto, and rescuers are frantically searching for survivors trapped beneath rubble, the prime minister said.