Additional Coverage:
- Quake survivors in southwestern Japan sleep in cars in sweltering heat as death toll rises to 34 (pbs.org)
Yatsushiro, Japan – Thousands of survivors of the recent magnitude 7.1 earthquake in southwestern Japan are enduring difficult conditions, spending days in crowded shelters or sleeping in their cars amid shortages of water and fuel. The intense summer heat, with temperatures soaring as high as 97°F, has raised concerns over heat-related illnesses.
The death toll has climbed to 34, according to the Kumamoto prefectural government, as rescue teams continue their search for those still missing. The quake caused significant destruction, including a mall explosion, the collapse of a factory chimney, and widespread damage to homes.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized the urgent need to secure water supplies, urging authorities to do “whatever it takes” and to work closely with the military and other agencies. While thousands of homes initially lost power, electricity was fully restored by Friday evening, with no immediate reports of ongoing outages.
The earthquake struck Kyushu, Japan’s southern main island, on Tuesday. Preliminary assessments indicate more than 1,500 buildings were damaged, including 179 that were completely destroyed. At least 96 people sustained injuries, six of them serious, and officials are investigating one additional death possibly linked to the quake.
In Yatsushiro City, one of the hardest-hit areas, a 116-year-old Japanese inn named Kinparo suffered severe damage. The inn’s main entrance collapsed, walls cracked, and rooftop tiles fell.
Owner Keisuke Matsumoto described the damage as “tremendous,” expressing uncertainty about how or when repairs might begin. Despite the challenges, he hopes to preserve the family inn, which has been passed down through generations since it was built in 1910.
Nearby, a local fish cake shop remains closed due to the water shortage. Shop owner Shinichiro Katayama is giving away remaining fish cakes to lift neighborhood spirits while awaiting the restoration of water to clean equipment and restart operations.
Water shortages remain critical, with nearly 80,000 households still without supply. Over 9,000 people are housed in shelters where efforts are underway to provide power for air conditioning. Fuel shortages, caused by power outages and disrupted deliveries, have left many residents struggling to keep cool, often resorting to sleeping in their cars despite limited gas availability.
The quake has also raised concerns about disruptions to Kumamoto’s industrial sector, a key hub for semiconductor and auto-parts production. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which operates a lab in the region, reported that all staff are safe and that operations are gradually resuming following structural inspections.
Rescue efforts entered a critical phase on Friday, as survival chances typically decrease after three days. Search teams, including those with dogs, continued to comb through devastated areas such as the collapsed Aeon Mall in Kashima, where a deadly explosion occurred and the second floor caved in, trapping people inside. Of the 11 individuals rescued from the mall, seven later died.
At a Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro, where a chimney collapse claimed lives, search operations have concluded, confirming nine fatalities out of 11 recovered workers. Smaller-scale searches continue at collapsed homes throughout southern Kumamoto, though officials have yet to provide a definitive count of missing persons.
As the community grapples with the aftermath, efforts persist to restore essential services and support those displaced, while dealing with the long road to recovery ahead.