'The strongest quake I have ever experienced'

Earthquake survivors have been describing the moment the 7.1 magnitude quake struck Japan's southwestern Kumamoto region.

"It was the strongest quake I have ever experienced," 73-year-old businessman Kanzo Matsuomoto told the AFP news agency. "I'm not sure if the region will recover from the damage."

Tokito Kitagawa was riding his motorcycle at the time of the earthquake and said: "Suddenly, there was a huge noise. I couldn't stay on my feet. I had to crouch down."

Kiyoshi Matsunaga, 74, was heading to the supermarket checkout just a few streets away from the collapsed Aeon shopping mall when the shaking began.

"I was frightened," he told the Associated Press, describing items being scattered from the supermarket shelves.

"I thought a bomb had gone off," Takateru Sonoda, 41, who runs a combined hair salon and café near the mall, told local news agency Jiji Press.

"There were people calling on others to evacuate and sirens were ringing out. Nearby roads were gridlocked, it ​was a state of panic."

Yuki Kiyozumi, deputy chief priest at a nearby temple, had just returned home from a meeting and was about to feed her cat. She recalled how she had to crawl on the floor because the shaking was so violent and said: "I don't even know if or how we can rebuild again." 

Hospitals struggle to cope near quake epicenter

Hospitals near the epicenter have come under severe strain as power outages and a surge in casualties disrupt medical care.

A hospital in the Uki district said it was unable to operate after losing electricity in the earthquake.

"It's become like a field hospital," the head of its administrative department told Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

Another hospital in the city suspended new admissions after treating 86 injured people, including three in serious condition, saying it could no longer accept additional emergency cases.

Rescuers scramble for survivors after Japan earthquake

Rescuers are racing to find survivors after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern Japan, killing at least 13 people and leaving widespread damage across the region.

Eight people were pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed shopping mall near the city of Kumamoto after an apparent explosion around an hour after Tuesday's quake. However, three of those rescued later died.

Mall operator Aeon said four employees remained unaccounted for after checks on around 2,700 staff members. Customers had been evacuated immediately after the initial earthquake.

"Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race against time. We will marshal all available resources on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said from Tokyo.

Powerful earthquake hits southern Japan

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Authorities are investigating whether a gas explosion caused the collapse at the Aeon mall. While rescuers reported smelling gas inside the building, government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said the cause was still unclear.

Firefighters, police and around 170 military personnel concentrated their efforts on sections of the mall where calls for help had been heard.

More than 4,500 soldiers have been deployed across the disaster zone as emergency crews search damaged buildings, restore power and assess ruptured roads.

Five killed in factory chimney collapse

In the city of Yatsushiro, five people were killed when part of a red-and-white smokestack collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory, according to the Kumamoto prefectural government's disaster response team.