The death toll from a powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake in southwestern Japan climbed to 34 on Friday as search operations entered a fourth day. Rescue crews worked through sweltering heat, water and fuel shortages, and extreme temperatures reaching 36 C in Kumamoto prefecture following the initial disaster on the island of Kyushu.
Search Efforts at Collapsed Mall and Factory
Searchers deployed with dogs to locate missing residents, though authorities have not yet provided a firm figure for the total number of people still unaccounted for.
The most severe structural damage occurred at the Aeon Mall shopping center in the town of Kashima. The complex was bustling with thousands of customers when the earthquake struck on Tuesday afternoon. According to the company, about 3,000 shoppers managed to evacuate to a parking lot before an explosion occurred in another part of the building where staff members were still working. The second floor of the mall collapsed, trapping people inside.
Meanwhile, search operations concluded at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in the Yatsushiro area, where a massive industrial chimney collapsed during the tremor. Kumamoto prefectural officials confirmed that the overall disaster death toll reached 34, with at least one additional death remaining under investigation to determine its connection to the quake.
Displaced Residents Struggle Against Extreme Heat
With preliminary assessments from Kumamoto officials showing more than 1,500 buildings damaged—including 179 that were completely destroyed—thousands of survivors spent Friday either in crowded evacuation centers or sleeping in their vehicles. More than 9,000 people sought refuge in shelters across the region, where authorities rushed to hook up auxiliary power sources to run air conditioning units.
Infrastructure failures compounded the crisis. Fuel shortages simultaneously developed as power outages disabled petrol stations and blocked transport deliveries from other regions, leaving car-sleeping residents struggling to maintain air conditioning.
“Since it’s a wooden house, the shaking is really intense, even when the earthquakes are small, it shakes, and it brings up this feeling of fear. So I think I’d really prefer somewhere that feels safe.”
Ayako Sudo, resident of Hikawa via NPR
The Japan Meteorological Agency and the Ministry of the Environment issued an extreme heat alert for Kumamoto city as temperatures peaked at 36 C (97 F) on Friday following 35 C (95 F) heat on Thursday.
Industrial Impact and Historic Preservation Stakes
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stressed that authorities must secure water supplies by doing whatever it takes
while calling for close coordination with the military and relevant agencies to handle changing needs on the ground. Beyond residential areas, the disruption hit Kumamoto’s vital industrial footprint.
Cultural landmarks also suffered heavy blows. In Yatsushiro City, Kinparo—a registered historic property and 116-year-old Japanese inn established in 1910—sustained severe structural damage, including a collapsed roofed main entrance and cracked white walls.
“The damage is tremendous and it would require significant repairs, and I can’t even think if or how I can do that, but it’s a valuable family inn that has been handed down for generations since my great-great grandfather built it, so I do hope to preserve it.”
Keisuke Matsumoto, owner of Kinparo inn via AP News
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