8,000 remain evacuated 1 week on from Kumamoto quake as heat persists

KUMAMOTO, Japan , Aug 4 (KYODO/APP):A week on from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan, over 8,000 people remain in evacuation shelters as water outages persisted amid extreme heat on Tuesday.

People were taking refuge in 150 evacuation shelters, with about 12,000 buildings estimated to have been damaged in the quake, according to the prefecture.

There has also been one suspected disaster-related death from heatstroke among people sleeping in cars, making life-saving measures urgent.

Following a visit to an evacuation shelter, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government will designate the quake a “disaster of extreme severity,” which enables affected local governments to receive higher subsidies for reconstruction work, and take special measures to assist victims.

On Tuesday, Takaichi’s Cabinet approved the use of about 24.2 billion yen ($150 million) from the government’s reserve funds for support measures for the quake-hit area, such as restoring highway bridges, delivering relief goods and constructing temporary housing.

Many parts of the prefecture logged highs of 35 C or higher on Monday, with some areas reaching 40 C for the first time on record.

The death toll from the temblor that struck around 4:27 p.m. on July 28 stands at 38, including seven who died in an explosion at an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima, and nine at Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s plant in Yatsushiro, where several smokestacks were damaged including one that collapsed.

The number of people sleeping in cars has yet to be fully tallied and may be higher than estimated. Applications for secondary evacuation to hotels have begun, and construction of temporary housing has started in the hard-hit municipalities of Uki and Hikawa.

The national and prefectural governments are working to prevent heatstroke at shelters by strengthening transportation of drinking water, expanding provision of portable toilets and using spot coolers.

The southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung has provided essential care supplies to Miyabien, a nursing home in Yatsushiro, after learning of the city’s requests.

Midori Tagata, director of the facility, expressed her gratitude for the donation, saying that water outages throughout the city have made it difficult to maintain proper hygiene for residents.

The Kyushu Shinkansen Line bullet train remains suspended between Kumamoto and Kagoshima-chuo stations, with the Kyushu Expressway closed to general vehicles between the Matsubase and Ebino exits.