Japan's earthquake death toll rose to 28 on Thursday as emergency workers searched a collapsed Kumamoto shopping mall for survivors.
The government issued the update after officials pulled four bodies from the wreckage of the Aeon mall, hit by a suspected gas blast following Tuesday's 7.1-magnitude quake. Thousands of residents sweltered without power in temperatures nearing 38C.
How many people died in the Japan earthquake?
The death toll from Tuesday's earthquake in southwestern Japan reached 28 by Thursday morning, according to Kumamoto prefectural officials. Rescuers extracted four bodies from the ruins of the Aeon shopping mall, which was hit by a suspected gas blast shortly after the initial 7.1-magnitude tremor. Officials said rescue efforts were continuing at the site.
What happened at the Aeon shopping mall?
The mall was evacuated after the earthquake struck, but around 50 minutes later a massive blast gutted the facility with an unknown number of employees still inside. A disaster management official told AFP that 10 people had been pulled out, four of them confirmed dead, one without vital signs and five others injured. Businessman Fumihiko Matsuura, 56, said he had watched a movie at the mall just a week earlier. "I was here. I was just here," he said. "It's like I narrowly escaped the danger." Footage from inside showed rescue workers picking through twisted steel, dangling cables and collapsed ceiling sections.
How are survivors coping with the heat?
Hundreds of elderly people, part of a country with the world's second oldest population, slept on thin mats on the floor of a community centre in Uki city. One woman, who declined to give her name, said she had tried to stay home or rest in her car but found it too hot, with too many mosquitoes. "In this heat, if you don't have electricity and air conditioning, it's very tough," said Hiroyuki Matsushima, 53, a supermarket employee and father of four.
What other damage did the earthquake cause?
Five people were also confirmed killed and four others were unaccounted for at the Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro city, where part of a smokestack collapsed. As of Thursday morning, 22,670 households and facilities remained without power, and around 84,000 homes had water disruptions as of Wednesday. Television footage showed residents queuing for petrol and drinking water, while authorities sent hundreds of air conditioning units to shelters.
How strong was the Kumamoto earthquake?
The US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.8, lower than Japan's official reading of 7.1. Kumamoto was struck by two devastating earthquakes in 2016 that killed 273 people and injured more than 2,800. Japan sits atop four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," making it one of the world's most seismically active countries.
Is Japan prone to earthquakes?
Japan, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of tremors every year and accounts for roughly 18 percent of the world's earthquakes. Most are mild, though damage varies depending on location and depth below the surface. The country remains haunted by the 2011 magnitude-9.0 undersea quake, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.
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