Topic Lifecycle: Dormant
This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Wednesday 29 July 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.
Coverage trend (last 30 days)
How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Recent stories
The latest story timelines linked to this topic, newest activity first.
What was reported
A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.
On 29 July 2026, a strong earthquake struck the Kumamoto region of southern Japan. The US Geological Survey initially reported a magnitude of 7.1 but later revised it to 6.8, according to ITV1. Sky News reported a magnitude of 7.8, but also later mentioned 6.8 on the Richter scale. Japan's own seismic scale registered it as a level 7 earthquake, the highest level. The earthquake caused an explosion at a shopping centre in Kumamoto city, leading to multiple deaths and people trapped. A tsunami warning was issued but later revoked. The Japanese Prime Minister urged people to take protective measures and said the government was assessing damage, including injuries, power cuts, damaged roads, bridges, and buildings. Train services were suspended and the airport closed. Three nuclear power plants in the region were reported undamaged. The area had experienced a deadly earthquake 10 years earlier that killed 50 people. Sky News additionally reported that 20 to 30 workers at the mall were unaccounted for, and a chimney collapse at a paper factory also left people missing. Both channels noted the region's preparedness for earthquakes but highlighted concerns due to the urban location and potential for structural damage.
Key Claims by Channel
Tuesday 28 July 2026
| Claim |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 3 channels | |||
| The Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima suffered an explosion and partial collapse, with reports of multiple deaths and 20 to 30 workers missing. | Reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News | |
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | |||
| A major earthquake struck the southern island of Kyushu, near Kumamoto City. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The earthquake magnitude was reported as 7.1 and later revised to 6.8. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV | |
| A tsunami advisory was issued but later withdrawn. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | |
| Power cuts affected thousands of homes. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Major roads and bridges were damaged, including a buckled highway bridge, but authorities said major infrastructure was largely unscathed. | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News | |
| Bullet trains were suspended and one derailed. | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News | |
| Three nearby nuclear power plants remained intact. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Japan's Prime Minister said the government is assessing damage and casualties and urged people to take protective measures. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The same area was hit by a deadly earthquake in 2016 that killed over 50 people. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Only on one channel | |||
| A shopping mall collapsed and a bullet train derailed, with casualties and missing workers reported. | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| No information on casualties was available at the time of the broadcast. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | |
| A paper factory chimney collapsed with people unaccounted for. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| 5 News did not specify a magnitude for the earthquake. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
Wednesday 29 July 2026
| Claim | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 3 channels | |||
| The Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima suffered an explosion and partial collapse, with reports of multiple deaths and 20 to 30 workers missing. | Reported by Channel 5 | ||
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | |||
| The earthquake magnitude was reported as 7.1 and later revised to 6.8. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by Sky News | |
| A tsunami advisory was issued but later withdrawn. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Three nearby nuclear power plants remained intact. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| An earthquake struck the Kumamoto region on Japan's southern main island, with the epicenter 12 miles south of Kumamoto City. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The Japanese Prime Minister called on people to take protective measures and said the government is assessing damage. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| There were reports of injuries, power cuts, damaged roads, bridges, and buildings, and train services were suspended and the airport closed. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Only on one channel | |||
| Bullet trains were suspended and one derailed. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The area was hit by a deadly earthquake 10 years ago that killed 50 people. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| A chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Factory and people are unaccounted for there. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.
Timeline
Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.
| Date | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 29 July 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2m 12s 14.7% | 5m 59s 13.6% |
| Tuesday 28 July 2026 | 2m 6s 5.3% | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12m 43s 24.0% |
| Monday 27 July 2026 | — | — | — | — | 2m 50s 5.7% | — | — | — |