Kumamoto - Residents across earthquake-stricken Kumamoto Prefecture are enduring extreme heat without water, electricity or air conditioning as rescue teams continue searching collapsed buildings following the powerful earthquake that registered the maximum seismic intensity of 7.
Twelve people have been confirmed dead across the prefecture, while six others are in cardiopulmonary arrest. Numerous homes have collapsed, roads and bridges have been severely damaged, and at least one major hospital has been forced to evacuate all of its patients after losing its ability to operate.
Temperatures have exceeded 35 degrees Celsius in parts of Kumamoto as emergency crews carry out difficult rescue operations among unstable buildings and damaged infrastructure.
At a collapsed home, rescuers found an elderly couple trapped inside. The husband was later confirmed dead, according to his family.
In Yatsushiro, the upper section of a large industrial chimney broke off and fell at Nippon Paper Industries' Yatsushiro mill, where 11 people were trapped. Seven were recovered, including five who died and two who were injured. The condition and whereabouts of the remaining four people were not immediately known.
The earthquake registered an intensity of upper 6 in Yatsushiro, where one man said he and his wife were trapped inside a building that had been used as a private tutoring school.
"We could not move at all, and pieces of the walls kept falling, so I tried to hold them up," the man said. "Then everything came crashing down."
He said the walls closed in so quickly that there was no opportunity to escape.
"I had no idea what was happening, and for a moment I thought this might be the end," he said. "When the shaking finally stopped, I could see a little light from outside and thought we might be able to get out through there."
The couple managed to crawl through a gap toward the light and escape.
Deep cracks have opened across roads in Uki, where vehicles have been forced to slow to a crawl. Some homes have tilted after the ground beneath them shifted.
The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan said approximately 87 centimeters of crustal movement was detected in the Sencho area of Yatsushiro as a result of the earthquake.
Kumamoto Minami National Hospital in Uki suffered extensive damage, with a large section of an exterior wall collapsing and exposing reinforcing steel. Water also leaked from the ceiling.
More than 120 hospitalized patients were transferred over roughly half a day to other medical facilities, including hospitals in Kumamoto. No decision has been made on whether or how the hospital will be rebuilt.
Authorities have yet to determine the full number of homes damaged across the prefecture.
For residents unable to return home, shortages of fuel and drinking water have become an immediate threat.
More than 30 vehicles lined up at one gasoline station as evacuees sought fuel to keep their cars running during another night of sleeping inside them.
"It was hot last night, and we slept in the car, so we have been running out of gasoline," one parent said. "I am worried about tonight because I have three children."
At a community center in Yatsushiro, residents formed another long line for drinking water. Supplies were restricted to two liters per person.
"When I went to the vending machines last night, everything was sold out," one resident said. "There was no tea, no water, nothing left."
Some evacuees remained outdoors as temperatures approached 35 degrees because power outages had left evacuation centers without air conditioning.
"There is no air conditioning inside," one person said. "Outside, at least there is a breeze from time to time."
Kumamoto Prefecture said 8,698 people were sheltering at 420 evacuation facilities.
As darkness fell on the second night after the earthquake, many communities remained without power. In one town of about 10,000 residents, municipal officials said electricity and tap water had been cut across most areas.
The town hall regained power during the evening, and residents who had left their damaged homes gathered in its parking lot to sleep in their cars.
One evacuee who had also experienced the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake said the latest disaster had left her terrified.
"I have been frightened of earthquakes ever since," she said. "Since yesterday's quake, my heart has been pounding constantly. I feel very anxious."
Masashi Matsunaga, 81, was cleaning up his damaged home with relatives who had arrived from his son's home in Kumamoto. His house had also been damaged in the Kumamoto earthquakes 10 years earlier.
"It was badly damaged the previous time, too, so I was shocked when I saw it again," a relative said.
Matsunaga fell over with his chair during the earthquake and injured his arm and other parts of his body. With the water supply still cut, he said he had been unable to wash his wounds.
"The blood has already dried and hardened, but there is no water," he said. "Water is unavailable in other parts of the town as well."
Widespread destruction was visible in neighborhoods containing many wooden homes. Some houses had collapsed until their roofs were almost level with the ground, while fallen walls and roof tiles blocked sidewalks.
Municipal officials said at least 225 homes in the town had been damaged. The number of casualties remained under investigation.
A roadside rest area designated as a local disaster-response center was itself heavily damaged. Large cracks crossed its parking lot, and some sections of the ground had risen to approximately waist height, making it impossible for vehicles to park.
The cracks also distorted the shape of the building.
"It sounded like everything was breaking apart," one person said. "It was the most extreme cracking and snapping noise imaginable."
During the Kumamoto earthquakes 10 years ago, the rest area accommodated more than 100 vehicles carrying people sleeping in their cars. This time, officials said it could no longer function as an emergency base.
Entering the building was considered dangerous. Although emergency power provided limited lighting, the water supply remained cut and the toilets could not be used.
Many evacuees drove to the facility, assessed the conditions and immediately left again, uncertain where they could safely stay.
Staff distributed remaining drinks and ice to residents, but the supplies offered only brief relief from the heat.
When asked what service he most wanted restored, one resident said electricity was the priority.
"Electricity is the most important," he said. "At this time of year, it is impossible to cope with this heat without air conditioning."
Some traffic signals had begun operating again one day after the earthquake, but most streetlights and homes remained dark.
Roads throughout the area were scarred by deep cracks and raised sections of pavement, creating additional hazards for people walking at night.
Residents seeking relief from the heat faced limited choices: evacuation centers with working air conditioning, when available, or vehicles running on increasingly scarce gasoline.
Others pitched tents in the parking lots of their homes or spent the night in parks and open areas near the damaged roadside station.
With both electricity and water unavailable in many communities, evacuees were rapidly losing strength as the heat continued.
Source: TBS
