The death toll from a severe earthquake in southwestern Japan has risen to 34 on Friday, according to the Kumamoto prefectural government.
The quake triggered an explosion at a shopping center, brought down a factory chimney, and destroyed numerous homes.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday. Officials said 34 deaths had been confirmed as related to the disaster, with one more death still under investigation. Dozens of people were injured, reports AFP.
More than 3,500 homes were still without electricity, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co. Authorities said more than 9,000 people were staying in shelters, where power sources were being added to provide air conditioning.
In the days since the quake, concerns have grown about illness, including from the sweltering heat. Temperatures Friday were due to rise to 36 C (97 F) in Kumamoto city, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, after stifling 35 C (95 F) heat on Thursday.
Searchers continued to work in the Kumamoto area on Friday, including at the site of the collapsed Aeon Mall shopping center in the town of Kashima, where some of the most serious damage was recorded. The complex was bustling with thousands of people when the quake happened.
The company said about 3,000 shoppers were evacuated to a parking lot before an explosion happened in another part of the mall, where some staff remained working. The mall’s second floor collapsed, trapping people.
At the site, seven people were confirmed dead and 11 had been rescued, Japanese Chief Cabinet Sec Minoru Kihara told reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Authorities didn’t say how many were still missing.
Meanwhile, a search operation had ended at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in the Yatsushiro area where a chimney collapsed in the quake, Kihara said. Searchers rescued 11 people there, while nine others were confirmed dead.
