A magnitude-7.1 earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, hit Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern main island of Kyushu, Japan, on Tuesday.
The earthquake death toll in Kumamoto has been raised to 36, according to local officials. The seismic event also left 105 people injured in the region, according to local officials.
A woman in her 70s died from suspected heatstroke while sheltering in her car in Kumamoto, in what is believed to be a disaster-related death. NHK public television reported that the woman was found dead on Thursday in a vehicle without gas.
It’s heartbreaking.
Governor Takashi Kimura urged evacuees sheltering in cars to keep refuelling their vehicles to run air-conditioning or to consider moving to air-conditioned evacuation centres.
Extreme heat and resource shortages
The Japan Meteorological Agency said temperatures reached 36.6°C in Kumamoto city on Saturday, described as an “extreme heat” level.
Still affected by a lack of fresh water in Kumamoto
More than 9,000 people remain in crowded shelters, according to prefectural officials, including school gyms, classrooms, and converted community centres. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told a government task force meeting on Saturday that water, food, air conditioners, portable toilets, and partitions were being delivered to improve conditions at these centres.
The government is determined to do everything we can.
Structural damage and industrial accidents
Kumamoto prefectural assessments indicate over 180 homes were destroyed and more than 3,800 buildings were damaged. Reports of power loss in Kumamoto have fallen to fewer than 900 households.
Authorities ended a search-and-rescue operation at the Aeon Mall in Kashima after extracting five people and the bodies of seven others following an explosion. The company believed the explosion was due to a gas leak.
At the Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro city, Kumamoto, the company confirmed nine employees were confirmed dead and two were rescued after a chimney collapsed.
