TOKYO — Japanese authorities ended a five-day search-and-rescue operation at a collapsed shopping mall on Saturday after a powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Japan earlier this week killed at least 34 people.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction and triggering an explosion believed to have been caused by a gas leak at an Aeon Mall in the town of Kashima.
Rescue teams pulled five survivors from the rubble and recovered the bodies of seven victims before confirming that everyone reported missing at the mall had been accounted for.
Search operations, however, continued across Kumamoto Prefecture, where the total number of missing remained unclear. Thousands of Self-Defense Force personnel, police officers, firefighters and search dogs remained deployed.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged emergency responders to continue their efforts until every missing person had been located.
Elsewhere, officials said nine workers died after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro City. Two employees were rescued from the site.
Authorities said 103 people were injured in the earthquake, while two additional deaths were still under investigation to determine whether they were directly related to the disaster.
The quake also left nearly 70,000 households without reliable water supplies as extreme summer temperatures complicated relief efforts. Temperatures in Kumamoto City reached 36.6 degrees Celsius (97.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, raising concerns over heat-related illnesses.
More than 9,000 people remained in evacuation shelters, including schools and community centers, while many others continued sleeping in cars or outside damaged homes due to overcrowding and privacy concerns.
Officials said more than 180 homes had been destroyed and nearly 3,500 buildings damaged, almost double the number reported a day earlier.
The government said it was delivering water, food, portable toilets, air-conditioning units and partitions to improve conditions in evacuation centers as recovery efforts continue.
Source: Saudi Gazette