Mall collapses after powerful quake rocks Kumamoto

A powerful earthquake rocked Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu region Tuesday, injuring scores and reportedly triggering an explosion that collapsed part of a shopping mall and left many people trapped.The magnitude 7.1 quake registered up to a shindo 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, and prompted multiple strong aftershocks. Authorities urged residents to remain vigilant for continued large quakes. Local officials told NHK that the second floor of an Aeon shopping mall in the town of Kashima appeared to have collapsed, leaving a large number of people trapped following earlier reports of an explosion and white smoke rising from the building. Many fatalities are expected as a result of the collapse, a Kumamoto police source said, according to local broadcaster RKK.