KUMAMOTO, Japan — Surgeons in a Kumamoto hospital continued an operation during a 7.1-magnitude earthquake on July 28, with video showing medical staff shielding a patient on the operating table as the theater rocked violently, equipment rattled and lights flickered overhead.
Footage showed medics grasping the operating table to keep it from moving. One team member was knocked to the floor while attempting to steady machinery. Japanese reports said the procedure was briefly interrupted but resumed and was completed successfully.
The earthquake struck Japan's southern island of Kyushu in the afternoon. Officials said 38 people died and more than 120 were injured across the affected prefectures.
The tremor triggered an explosion at a shopping center and caused a factory chimney to collapse. Significant damage was reported across Kumamoto Prefecture, affecting homes and infrastructure.
Seven people died when the Aeon Mall in Kashima town collapsed. Rescuers searched through rubble after the mall's second floor gave way.
Roads cracked apart and thousands of properties lost electricity. More than 79,000 residents were left without running water, and approximately 3,500 homes remained without power for several days as temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius.
Around 9,000 residents sought refuge in emergency shelters. Many whose homes became uninhabitable spent subsequent nights sleeping in their cars.
The town of Hikawa was among the hardest-hit areas. Local authorities estimated more than 800 of its 4,500 homes were destroyed or damaged.
The shaking was also felt across the sea in South Korea.
Video that emerged in the days after the earthquake showed shoppers running for cover, roads buckling and buildings collapsing across the region.
The Kumamoto hospital where the surgery occurred returned to normal service on Aug. 5, just over a week after the earthquake struck.
