Powerful earthquake rocks Japan, damaging buildings and mall in south

(TOKYO and LONDON) — A powerful earthquake rocked southern Japan on Tuesday, damaging building, causing injuries and prompting warnings from officials, according to local authorities and broadcasts.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured at a magnitude of 6.8 after initially releasing a preliminary magnitude of 7.1.

It struck Kyushu Island, in the Kumamoto Prefecture, shortly before 4:30 p.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, where a large shopping mall has been damaged.

The shopping mall was evacuated when the quake struck, Japan’s NHK News reported, adding that there appeared to have been an explosion in the aftermath of the earthquake and that injuries were reported in the area.

Aerials taken from above the shopping mall appeared to show that a number of walls, as well as the roof, partially collapsed. NHK reported that the fire department said the second floor of the building collapsed.

The quake struck about 6 miles below the island, which is the southernmost of the main Japanese islands, according to local and U.S. weather officials.

The quake prompted the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue and later lift a tsunami advisory for the coasts of the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea.

The agency warned that further quakes may strike the area in the coming days, with an official saying, “As the place where the latest earthquake occurred is shallow, this shows that many earthquakes have occurred.”

The rumbling on Tuesday afternoon lasted for about a minute, according to Japan’s NHK News, which broadcast images of apparent smoke or fire nearby.

The prefecture’s airport, Kumamoto Airport, in Mashiki, suspended flights all flights shortly after the quake, according to a notice posted on its website.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said in an emergency update that it had not recorded “abnormalities” at nearby facilities in Ikata, Genkai and Satsumasendai City.

Several thousand homes were without power following the quake, NHK reported.

Officials urged people to stay away from the ocean and the sea shore. They also warned residents to watch for possible landslides.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said strong shaking could be felt in both city of Uki and the town of Hikawa. She warned of potential tsunamis of about a meter, or just over 3 feet, near the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas.

“I urge residents in areas that experienced strong shaking to remain vigilant against the possibility of further earthquakes of similar magnitude,” she said in a statement posted in Japanese on social media.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

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