Heat, water cuts and shelter crowds persist a week after Kumamoto's 7.1 quake

One week after a 7.1-magnitude quake struck Kumamoto Prefecture, more than 8,000 individuals are still sheltering in roughly 150 evacuation sites, with water service disrupted for about 45,000 homes. The prefecture reports damage to an estimated 12,000 buildings and a death toll of 38, including seven victims from an Aeon mall explosion and nine from a plant incident at Nippon Paper Industries. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited a shelter, labeling the disaster as one of extreme severity, which activates larger reconstruction grants, and the Cabinet approved 24.2 billion yen from reserve funds for bridge repairs, relief distribution and temporary housing construction in the hardest-hit towns of Uki and Hikawa.

Extreme heat has pushed temperatures above 35 °C, some areas hitting 40 °C for the first time, and a suspected heat-stroke death was recorded among those sleeping in cars. Water trucks from across Japan are operating, while Taiwan's Kaohsiung city supplied essential supplies to the Miyabien nursing home in Yatsushiro. Rail service on the Kyushu Shinkansen remains suspended and a section of the Kyushu Expressway is closed to regular traffic.