Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake in Japan's Kyushu Leaves 34 Dead as Survivors Face Water, Fuel Shortages and Extreme Heat

Thousands of survivors of a powerful earthquake in southwestern Japan spent Friday in crowded shelters or sleeping in cars as they faced shortages of water and fuel and punishing summer temperatures that stoked fears of heat-related illness. The death toll rose to 34, the Kumamoto prefectural government said, as rescuers raced to find those still missing after the quake triggered a mall explosion, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Japan's southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday. As search operations entered a fourth day, it was not known how many people remained missing. More than 1,500 buildings were damaged, including 179 that were destroyed, according to preliminary assessments by Kumamoto officials. Officials said one more death and its connection to the quake is under investigation, while at least 96 people were injured, including six seriously.

Government Response and Infrastructure Restoration

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stressed that authorities must secure water supplies by doing "whatever it takes" and called for close coordination with the military and other relevant agencies. The earthquake left thousands of homes without power, but electricity was fully restored by Friday evening. The local power company also said there were no immediate reports of remaining outages.

Kumamoto authorities said nearly 80,000 homes remained without water. More than 9,000 people were staying in shelters, where power sources were being added to provide air conditioning. Fuel has also become scarce as power outages disabled gas stations and quake damage disrupted deliveries from other regions. Many have resorted to sleeping in their cars for privacy, but with the fuel shortage, they struggle to keep the air conditioning running in sweltering temperatures.

Extreme Heat Compounds the Crisis

Japan's weather agency and the Ministry of the Environment issued an extreme heat alert for Kumamoto city Friday as temperatures peaked at 36 C (97 F). Hirokazu Sato, who lost his home in the earthquake, said he and his wife and three children would remain in their car until they can move into temporary housing. "I don't know how soon I'd be able to move in," said Sato. "We need to have the air conditioning on throughout the day and night, which uses up gas."

Search and Rescue Operations

Japanese officials had described Friday afternoon as a crucial point for rescue efforts as some experts say survival chances decline after the first three days. With search dogs, rescuers continued looking for survivors across the Kumamoto area, including at the collapsed Aeon Mall in the town of Kashima, one of the hardest-hit sites. 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. Seven of the 11 rescued were confirmed dead, but officials did not say if anyone else is missing.

A search operation had ended at a Nippon Paper Industries (搜索)搜索该词条 factory in the Yatsushiro city where a chimney collapsed in the quake, officials said. Of the 11 people dug out there, nine were confirmed dead. Smaller-scale searches continued Friday at the sites of collapsed houses in badly hit towns in southern Kumamoto. Authorities have not supplied a firm figure for how many people are missing.

Economic and Industrial Impact

Kumamoto is also a major industrial hub, and there are concerns that the quake could possibly disrupt semiconductor and auto-parts supply chains for months to come. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (搜索)搜索该词条, a global chip giant that operates a lab in Kumamoto, said all personnel were safe and operations were gradually resuming after postquake inspections found the structure was sound, although detailed inspections and impact assessments were still underway.

Damage to Historic and Community Sites

In Yatsushiro City, another hard-hit area in southern Kumamoto, Kinparo, a 116-year-old Japanese inn, was severely damaged, with its roofed main entrance collapsed to the ground, white walls cracked and rooftiles fell. Started in 1910, the three-story ryokan with traditional architecture and its hot bath have attracted many fans from the region and across Japan.

"The damage is tremendous and it would require significant repairs, and I can't even think if or how I can do that," inn owner Keisuke Matsumoto said. "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."

Across the street from the Kinparo inn, a fish cake shop owner unable to resume his business due to the water cutoff was giving away tube-shaped fish cakes while they are still edible. "I just wanted to cheer up this neighborhood," said shop owner Shinichiro Katayama. "I don't even know if the machine still works. When water supply is back that would be my first step toward a recovery."