Strong Quake Jolts Kumamoto in Southwestern Japan

Kumamoto, July 28 (Jiji Press)--A powerful earthquake hit Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan at around 4:27 p.m. on Tuesday, measuring up to 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, in the city of Uki and the town of Hikawa.

The quake struck at a depth of about 10 kilometers and had an estimated magnitude of 7.1, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The agency temporarily issued a tsunami advisory for areas facing the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas in Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Saga and Nagasaki prefectures.

The Kumamoto prefectural police department recognized 12 collapsed houses, four cases of people being trapped in their homes, two fires, and 13 rescue situations.

A total of about 48,000 households in Kumamoto, including those in Uki, Hikawa and the city of Yatsushiro, were hit by a blackout as of 5:30 p.m., and some areas in Oita Prefecture also suffered from a power outage, Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Co. said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]