Earthquake toll climbs to 25 in Japan
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KUMAMOTO, Japan (AP) -- Residents in southwestern Japan camped in classrooms and vehicles Thursday, stocked up on water and tried to get back to normal, two days after a powerful quake set off an explosion at a mall, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes in a disaster that killed at least 25 people.
Time was running out to find survivors, as rescuers continued to work in the Kumamoto area on Japan ‘s southern main island of Kyushu, where the magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Tuesday. The number of people missing was unclear.
Of the deaths given in the latest tally, 25 have been confirmed as related to the disaster, but there were nine more deaths under investigation as likely to be connected, the Kumamoto prefectural government said. The quake left at least 86 people injured, five of them seriously, it said.
Survivors spoke about desperately pulling family members out of the wreckage. Some had suffered injuries and were rushed to the hospital.
Thousands of people spent another night at evacuation centers set up throughout the area at schools and other big spaces. Some homes were still without water or electricity, while others were simply afraid to go back.
Nearly 19,000 homes were still without electricity and more than 9,000 people were staying in the roughly 400 shelters, where power sources were being added to provide air conditioning.
Concerns were growing about illness, including from the sweltering heat. The Ministry of Environment sent out a heatstroke alert for the Kumamoto area, with temperatures rising above 33 C (91 F) Thursday.
In the town of Hikawa, one of the hardest-hit areas in Kumamoto, many residents are without water or electricity, or both, and some were staying inside their vehicles in parks, at the town hall parking lot, or outside their homes. More than 800 of the town of about 4,500 households were destroyed or damaged, officials said.