Record Summer Heat Hits Kumamoto Quake Evacuees

Kumamoto, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Temperatures reached 40.3 degrees Celsius in the city of Kumamoto on Monday, topping 40 degrees for the first time on record in the namesake southwestern Japan prefecture, adding to the plight of local residents hit by a powerful earthquake last Tuesday. Elsewhere in the prefecture, temperatures hit 40.2 degrees in the city of Kikuchi and 39.8 degrees in the town of Kosa. More than 8,500 people are still staying in evacuation shelters nearly a week after the earthquake, which registered up to 7, the highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale. The prefectural government has started procedures for them to move to hotels and other lodging facilities. According to the prefectural government, all affected people are eligible to relocate to these secondary evacuation facilities. The distribution of related leaflets at current evacuation centers began on Monday. Relocation is expected to start Tuesday at the earliest. “We will make preparations so that evacuees can relocate as soon as possible,” Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura told reporters Sunday. In addition, 50 makeshift housing units will be built in the city of Uki and 20 in the town of Hikawa, which are expected to become available in September or later. Damage was especially heavy in the two municipalities, where the earthquake measured the maximum seismic intensity of 7. As of Monday morning, the death toll from the quake stood at 38, including cases under investigation for possible links with the disaster, according to the prefecture’s disaster response headquarters. Among the victims is a woman in her 70s who is believed to have died of heatstroke. She may be recognized as the first indirect casualty of the latest earthquake. The number of damaged houses has reached 4,622 while water supply has been disrupted at 46,700 households. A total of 8,556 people are staying at 206 evacuation centers, while some evacuees are using their cars. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]