[Anchor]

Our correspondent is stationed in front of a large shopping mall in Kumamoto, where casualties occurred due to an explosion following the earthquake.

Correspondent Mun Junmo, what looks like the shopping mall is visible behind you to the left. What is the current rescue situation?

[Reporter]

Behind me is the AEON Mall Kumamoto, where the explosion took place.

Access is currently restricted to the public as safety control lines have been set up, making it difficult to get close.

However, seeing roads and vehicles more than 100 meters away from the exploded shopping mall covered in white debris beyond the control line gives a sense of just how massive the explosion was.

Hundreds of firefighters and Self-Defense Force personnel have been deployed for rescue operations, but efforts are facing difficulties due to the risk of aftershocks and additional collapses.

Authorities are currently deploying drones and search dogs to find survivors as quickly as possible.

[Anchor]

You also visited the epicenter of this earthquake. What was it like?

[Reporter]

I visited Uki, which is about an hour's drive from here.

Let us take a look together.

Unlike the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, which had the same seismic intensity of 7 and left entire villages devastated, the damage was particularly severe for wooden houses.

Gardens were completely ruined as if hit by a bomb.

Glass doors collapsed and shattered into pieces, and heavy stone towers were broken and scattered around.

Inside the houses, ceilings caved in, and furniture and shoes were scattered everywhere.

Large outdoor LP gas cylinders leaned precariously, hanging barely by their connection hoses.

Emergency measures are being taken due to the risk of fires and explosions.

[Gas Company Employee: There are places where LP gas cylinders fell over due to the earthquake. We are collecting them starting from the most dangerous locations.]

At another house, solar panels on the roof caved in, and an external boiler was left abandoned on the road along with a collapsed stone wall.

[Okumura / Uki Resident: It suddenly started shaking, and I couldn't stand up or move. Wardrobes fell over, and the refrigerator lost power. This was much worse than the Kumamoto earthquake 10 years ago.]

What people fear the most right now are aftershocks.

[Okumura / Uki Resident: Afraid that it might shake again, I slept in my car last night and plan to do the same today. I don't know when another big earthquake might hit, and I haven't even been able to clean up my room.]

Many shelters operated by local governments are not functioning properly due to power outages and water cuts, leaving residents to fend for themselves in the safest places possible.

(Camera reporting: Han Chel-min, Moon Hyun-jin | Video editing: Jung Sung-hoon)