Over 8,000 remain in shelters week after Japan quake, as extreme heat compounds crisis

More than 8,000 people remained in evacuation shelters Tuesday, a week after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan’s southwestern Kumamoto Prefecture, as persistent water shortages and extreme heat complicated recovery efforts, Kyodo News reported.

Around 150 shelters remain open, while an estimated 12,000 buildings were damaged by the July 28 earthquake, the report said, citing prefectural authorities.

The death toll stands at 38, including seven people killed in an explosion at an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima and nine at a Nippon Paper Industries plant in Yatsushiro.

Two female employees killed at the Aeon Mall had initially evacuated after the earthquake but were instructed by their employer to return inside to move sales proceeds to a safe before the explosion, according to reports. The company has since apologized to the victims’ families.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Kumamoto on Monday, inspecting an evacuation shelter and assessing damage. She said the government would designate the earthquake a “disaster of extreme severity,” allowing affected municipalities to receive increased reconstruction subsidies.

Her Cabinet on Tuesday approved about 24.2 billion yen ($150 million) from reserve funds for relief operations, including temporary housing, infrastructure repairs, and emergency supplies.

Water outages continued to affect roughly 45,000 households across five municipalities as temperatures exceeded 35C in many areas, with some reaching 40C.

Authorities are also investigating a suspected disaster-related heatstroke death involving a person sheltering in a vehicle, while encouraging survivors to move to hotels and other secondary accommodation.

The Kyushu Shinkansen remains suspended between Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo, while sections of the Kyushu Expressway remain closed to general traffic.