Japan quake toll rises as evacuees face heat

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in southwestern Japan has risen to 30, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday, as rescuers searched collapsed buildings and thousands of evacuees endured dangerous heat in shelters across Kumamoto prefecture.

The quake struck Tuesday on Kyushu, Japan’s southern main island, damaging homes, power lines, a shopping center and a paper factory. The BBC reported the quake had a magnitude of 6.8 and a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, or about six miles. NPR reported the magnitude as 7.1.

Rescue teams continued digging through rubble two days after the disaster, with hopes of finding survivors fading. Thousands of personnel have been deployed for search-and-rescue operations, including at Kashima’s Aeon shopping center, one of the worst-hit sites. A section of the mall’s second floor collapsed, and an explosion tore through the complex about an hour after the quake.

Several people died at the mall. NPR reported that, as of early Thursday, six people had been confirmed dead there among 11 people pulled from the wreckage, citing Kumamoto authorities. The company said about 3,000 customers had been evacuated to a parking lot before the explosion occurred in another part of the mall, where some people were still working.

Aeon’s president said it was “very likely” a gas explosion, though the cause remained under investigation. The mall had reopened last month as a revamped shopping complex after previously being damaged in a series of strong earthquakes in April 2016 that killed 278 people in the region. A cat cafe inside the mall said Wednesday that all 25 cats left behind during the chaos had been safely rescued.

Rescuers were also combing a Nippon Paper factory in Yatsushiro city, where the BBC reported at least five people died after the factory partially collapsed. Nippon Paper said Wednesday that 11 people had been trapped and seven had been rescued. NPR, citing the Kumamoto prefectural government disaster team, reported that in the Yatsushiro area, where a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory, 10 people were rescued, eight died and one remained missing.

The number of missing people remained unclear. NPR reported that at least 63 people were injured, five seriously, according to the Kumamoto prefectural government. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters Thursday that a police tally put the death toll at 28, but said the figure included cases still under investigation that could later prove unrelated to the earthquake.

Evacuation centers in gymnasiums and other large spaces were crowded with people whose homes were damaged, lacked utilities or felt unsafe because of aftershocks. The BBC reported around 9,000 displaced residents were in evacuation centers and more than 30,000 households were without power as of Wednesday. NPR reported nearly 23,000 homes were still without electricity and more than 10,000 people were staying in roughly 400 shelters.

More than 100 aftershocks have been recorded since the initial quake, and many residents have slept in cars out of fear of further tremors.

Heat has become a major concern. Forecasts cited by the BBC said temperatures in Kumamoto could reach 39 C in the coming days, while NPR reported the Environment Ministry issued a heat stroke alert for the area, with temperatures expected to reach 33 C on Thursday. Officials urged survivors and rescue workers to take precautions. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Wednesday that 300 air conditioners were being delivered to Kumamoto, including 150 for evacuation centers.

Hiroko Ogata, a 75-year-old restaurant owner in Yatsushiro, told the BBC she hid under a table when the quake struck and the table swayed violently with her beneath it.

“I have lived here for 75 years, but I have never experienced such a big quake,” she said. “I thought I would die.”