Japan earthquake rescue faces deadly heat as death toll rises to 34

At least 34 people had died in Kumamoto Prefecture after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern Japan. Rescuers worked through roughly 100-degree heat, and evacuees in crowded shelters faced heatstroke risk. More than 9,000 people were displaced, many sleeping in shelters or in cars after damaged homes lost power.

Tens of thousands of households were still without electricity, cutting off air-conditioning and worsening shortages of water and other relief supplies as temperatures stayed near 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The quake hit on July 28, and 86 people were injured.

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces airlifted about 300 air conditioners to shelters and distributed drinking water. Peace Winds responders also provided medical treatment, drinking water and other emergency aid to survivors in Kumamoto, where hundreds of people needed care after evacuating their homes.

Rescue crews pressed on at a damaged Aeon Mall shopping center and other collapsed structures, with the 72-hour survival window for finding trapped survivors running down. Unstable buildings, widespread power cuts and punishing heat made the rescue effort unusually dangerous for both workers and displaced residents.

The 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes included a magnitude 6.7 foreshock on April 14 followed by a 7.3 mainshock two days later. That sequence killed 50 people and left major damage across Kumamoto and surrounding rural communities.