Kumamoto – The death toll from the powerful earthquake that rocked Kumamoto Prefecture late last month has increased by one to 39, the prefectural government’s disaster response headquarters said Saturday.
Of the total, 36 people died directly due to the July 28 earthquake, while one person died of suspected heatstroke in what was believed to be a “disaster-related death” caused by the physical and mental toll of living as an evacuee.The two remaining deaths have been investigated for possible links to the earthquake.
The number of casualties from the temblor has reached 205 in the prefecture, with 23 severely injured.
Some 6,500 people remain in evacuations centers, after the quake damaged some 18,000 home, including 699 that were completely destroyed.
Water outages were continuing to affect prefecture, with about 36,400 households affected, including 23,460 in the city of Yatsushiro and 9,900 in the city of Uki, according to the land ministry as of Saturday.
Volunteer cleanup activities in the prefecture were expected to enter a new phase in the coming days, as the hardest areas of Hikawa and Yatsushiro open their doors to outside help.
Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura said Thursday that the prefecture hoped to bring in scores of volunteers over the next week.
“We would like as many volunteers as possible to come to Kumamoto during the Obon period,” Kimura said. “To all volunteers and those considering volunteering, please lend your strength to the disaster-stricken areas.”
The 7.1-magnitude Kumamoto earthquake registered registered a shindo 7 — the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale — in Uki and the town of Hikawa.
