An emergency response team member, right, urges a man displaced by Tuesday's earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture to take precautions against heatstroke in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, on Sunday, August 2.
KUMAMOTO (Jiji Press) -- The death toll from Tuesday's powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has risen to 38 as two more deaths have been confirmed, the prefectural disaster response headquarters said Sunday.
A woman in her 70s died while sleeping in a car, apparently from heatstroke. Her death was judged potentially to be disaster-related, with the physical and mental strain of life as an evacuee among the possible causes.
This is the first possible disaster-related death linked to the earthquake. The death toll includes other cases under investigation for suspected links to the disaster.
With summer heat expected to intensify in areas hit by the disaster, the prefectural and central governments are rushing to prepare to help evacuees move to secondary evacuation facilities.
As of Sunday afternoon, the number of damaged homes stood at 4,213. Water supply remained disrupted for 46,700 households. A total of 8,480 people were staying at 206 evacuation centers. But the number of people taking shelter in cars remains unknown.
According to the prefectural disaster response headquarters, the woman was confirmed dead after she was found staying in the car on Thursday. The car's air conditioner was not working because the vehicle had run out of gas. Whether her death is officially recognized as disaster-related will be determined by a municipal examination board.
In disaster-stricken areas in the prefecture, extreme heat with a maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius or higher continued after the earthquake, with authorities calling for caution against heatstroke.
In order to prevent disaster-related deaths, the prefectural and central governments are working to secure secondary evacuation facilities.
They are expected to be able to arrange accommodations for up to some 2,200 people at 73 facilities, such as hotels and "ryokan" Japanese-style inns, while considering how to transport elderly people and others to such places.
The other newly confirmed fatality is a man in his 80s who was in the city of Uki in Kumamoto when the earthquake struck the prefecture.
Recruitment of disaster volunteers has started in Uki, the city of Uto, the town of Misato and the town of Kosa, in addition to the towns of Mashiki, Kashima and Mifune.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a total of 360 earthquakes measuring 1 or higher on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of up to 7 had occurred by 3 p.m. Sunday following Tuesday's temblor, including five quakes registering lower 5, the fifth-highest level, and 16 quakes registering 4.