Rescuers search for survivors as Japan quake death toll rises to 34
Emergency workers continued searching for survivors in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on Thursday after a powerful earthquake killed at least 34 people and left thousands without electricity in extreme heat.
Authorities said seven bodies had been recovered from the collapsed Aeon shopping mall, while eight others died at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro after part of a smokestack collapsed. Five people remained in critical condition.
Nearly 9,500 people were staying in evacuation centres across Kyushu, while 13,520 households were still without power following Tuesday's 7.1-magnitude quake.
The earthquake flattened homes, damaged bridges and sparked fires, with temperatures forecast to reach 38°C this weekend.
"Thank God for these shelters," one evacuee told AFP, explaining that conditions at home and in cars were unbearable because of the heat and mosquitoes.
"In this heat, if you don't have electricity and air conditioning, it's very tough," supermarket employee Hiroyuki Matsushima said.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
