Bridge Bent Like Taffy... "TSMC Halts Operations, Suffers Massive Losses"

[Anchor]

Buildings collapsed in various places, and water and electricity were cut off. Infrastructure such as railways and bridges also suffered sequential damage. The industrial sector was impacted as well, with operations halted at TSMC, the world's largest contract semiconductor manufacturer.

Next is reporter Gwak Sang-eun.

[Reporter]

Employees working hurriedly hide under their desks, while monitors and books collapse helplessly.

[Still ongoing? A strong earthquake has just occurred in Kumamoto.]

In a store where goods are scattered everywhere, employees guide startled customers to evacuate.

[Store employee: If there are people who need to leave the store urgently right now, could you please line up this way?]

Houses collapsed and shrine roofs caved in across Kumamoto, which was swept by the powerful earthquake.

[Resident in the affected area: If I had been inside at the time (when the house collapsed), I probably would have died.]

Smoke from fires rises incessantly from among the shattered buildings.

[Footage provided by Japan's Ministry of Defense: Individuals presumed to be firefighters can be seen carrying out firefighting operations at the scene of the fire.]

Water supply was cut off for 140,000 households in Kumamoto Prefecture alone, and some 40,000 households suffered power outages.

[Resident in the affected area: The damage was bigger than any earthquake I've experienced before. The house lost power, and my belongings fell over and became a mess.]

A bridge crossing a river snapped in the middle and bent like taffy, and a train derailed and tipped over onto its side.

Kumamoto Airport, which closed its runways immediately after the strong earthquake, resumed operations yesterday (the 28th) evening and is operating normally, but disruptions to land transportation continue in various places.

[Japan's NTV Broadcast: As you can see, all traffic lights are out around Yatsushiro City.]

Amid major casualties reported at AEON Mall and a Nippon Paper Industries plant, damage to major industries also followed.

TSMC, the world's largest contract semiconductor manufacturer, suspended operations at its Kumamoto Plant 1 before resuming after safety inspections, but the possibility has been raised that tens of billions of won in losses may have occurred in the process.

Construction on its second plant under construction was also partially suspended due to concerns over aftershocks.

Toyota temporarily suspended operations at three plants in Fukuoka, and Honda suffered water leakage and flooding damage at its motorcycle manufacturing plant.

Japan Post completely suspended counter services at post offices within Kumamoto Prefecture, leading to ongoing disruptions in regional logistics.

(Video by Nam Il)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.