Japan quake death toll climbs to 28, government says; survivors face punishing heat

[YATSUSHIRO, Japan] The 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Japan toppled houses and split open streets in the small city of Yatsushiro, but town official Akio Matsushita is most worried about the invisible threats from the lack of water and power amid the punishing summer heat.

Many of the port city’s roughly 58,000 households were still without running water or power on Thursday (Jul 30), two days since the quake hit Kumamoto prefecture killing at least 17 people. Matsushita, who is helping lead relief efforts, said he had no idea whether it would take days, weeks or months to repair the badly damaged water mains.

“Because of the summer heat, the lack of water is especially difficult,” he said in the city hall.

With the building’s toilets out of order, officials erected emergency toilets over sewer manholes outside, in temperatures of around 35 deg C and stifling humidity.

“It will require painstaking work, and there is currently no timetable,” he added.

Death toll climbs

The Kumamoto prefectural government said the death toll from the earthquake was now at 17 – the majority of them at Nippon Paper Industries’ paper mill, which suffered major structural damage, and at Aeon’s shopping mall, where a possible gas explosion occurred. Another six people are in cardiopulmonary arrest, it said.

Including those still being investigated for a possible link to the quake, the death toll stands at 28, Japan’s top government spokesperson said.

While rescue and relief efforts continue, a Kumamoto official warned of heatstroke risk in temperatures that were forecast to reach close to 40 deg C over the Aug 1-2 weekend. The Self-Defense Force (SDF) – Japan’s military – is installing about 300 air-conditioning units in evacuation centres and other key sites around Kumamoto.

Immediately after the quake, SDF trucks towed water tanks to community centres and schools across Yatsushiro city, returning to city hall to refill from emergency tanks beneath the building. Residents were limited to 3 litres each.

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Among them was Masahiro Miyamoto, who had been helping clear rubble from a temple gate that had toppled.

He returned home after the late-afternoon quake to find his house still standing beside the collapsed remains of his neighbour’s home. But with no running water, he was forced to rely on military water bowsers.

The few shops still open were packed with people searching for supplies, he said, while cars formed long queues at petrol stations.

“It would be better if disasters did not happen, but this is Japan, so perhaps it is something we simply have to live with,” Miyamoto said.

Production halt hits major manufacturers

Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and ocean trenches that account for about one-fifth of the world’s large earthquakes. Strict building standards and regular disaster drills reduce casualties, but powerful tremors can still cripple the regions in which they occur.

Kumamoto and other parts of the Kyushu region have increasingly become key production sites for automobiles and semiconductors. Tuesday’s quake has forced manufacturers such as Toyota , Honda, Nissan, Aisin and Sony to halt some production and prompted Taiwan’s TSMC to evacuate workers and briefly suspend operations to assess any damage.

Miyamoto and many residents of Yatsushiro and nearby Kumamoto city have endured major earthquakes before. Two powerful quakes in April 2016 killed more than 260 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

But Tuesday’s shaking, which toppled shelves and hurled computers to the floor, was worse in Yatsushiro than anything Matsushita experienced a decade ago.

“I had never experienced the world moving like that before. It felt as though my body became weightless and was thrown through the air,” Miyamoto said. REUTERS