2,500 People Still Evacuated 1 Month after Kumamoto Quake

Kumamoto, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Nearly 2,500 people are still staying in evacuation centers amid scorching heat one month after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto. While efforts toward recovery and reconstruction are underway, challenges remain numerous, with water supply still disrupted in some areas. According to the Kumamoto prefectural government’s disaster response headquarters, 38 people were confirmed dead as a result of the July 28 quake, and 33 remained seriously injured, as of 2 p.m. Thursday. Two of the deaths are believed to have been disaster-related, stemming from factors such as heatstroke. The number of evacuees has fallen to 2,460 at 61 shelters in 11 municipalities, down sharply from 10,467 at 415 shelters as of July 30. Each municipality is also working to identify people sheltering at home or in their vehicles through door-to-door visits and other efforts. The 7.1-magnitude earthquake damaged 42,222 houses, including 4,940 that were destroyed or severely damaged and 27,248 that sustained some damage. The extent of damage to 10,034 homes has yet to be determined. The construction of temporary housing has begun, with residents expected to start moving in on Sept. 5. However, water supply disruptions remain a major obstacle to rebuilding lives. Although water supply and sewer service disruptions are expected to be resolved by the end of the month, about 4,400 households in the city of Yatsushiro, where the maximum seismic intensity reached 7, the highest on the Japanese scale, had wells used for daily water supplies damaged. The prefectural government is working with the central government to address the problem, but there is no timetable for a full recovery. Economic damage to businesses and industries totaled about 155.9 billion yen as of Tuesday, while damage to agriculture, forestry and fisheries businesses reached about 110.2 billion yen. Both figures are expected to increase further. A survey found that cancellations at accommodations across the prefecture totaled about 190,000 people, representing roughly 2.7 billion yen in lost revenue. A total of some 140,000 volunteers had taken part in relief efforts across 11 municipalities as of Tuesday. Buses for disaster relief volunteers departing from the city of Kumamoto to the cities of Uki and Yatsushiro and the town of Hikawa, which were devastated by the earthquake, are scheduled to begin operating in stages from Saturday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]