Hope dwindles for rescue in southwestern Japan quake as death toll climbs to 23

KUMAMOTO, Japan (AP) — Rural communities in southwestern Japan were struggling to get their lives back to normal Thursday, two days after a powerful earthquake set off an explosion at a mall, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes, killing at least 23 people.Time was running out to find survivors, as rescuers continued to work in the Kumamoto area on Japan ’s southern main island of Kyushu, where the magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Tuesday.The number of those missing was unclear. The quake left at least 63 people injured, five of them seriously, the Kumamoto prefectural government said.Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, speaking to reporters Thursday, gave a higher number for the death toll at 28. That came from a police tally, he said, which includes cases still under investigation.

Some of those cases may later turn out to be unrelated to the earthquake.Survivors spoke about coming home and desperately pulling family members out of the wreckage. Some had suffered injuries and were rushed to the hospital.Thousands of people spent another night at evacuation centers set up throughout the area in gymnasiums and other big spaces. Some homes were still without water or electricity, while others were simply afraid to go back.Nearly 23,000 homes were still without electricity and more than 10,000 people were staying in the roughly 400 shelters, where power sources were being added to provide air conditioning.Concerns were growing about illness, including from the sweltering heat.

The Ministry of Environment sent out a heat stroke alert for the Kumamoto area, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 33 C (91 F) Thursday.Some evacuees sleep in carsIn the town of Hikawa, one of the hardest-hit areas in Kumamoto, many residents are without water or electricity, or both, and some are staying inside their vehicles in parks or at the town hall parking lot.At the front entrance of the town hall, officials delivered bottled water and packaged instant rice, while the Ground Self-Defense Force service members came with a trolley to provide fresh water.Yoshiaki Nakashima, a 66-year-old resident who came with two bottles and his beloved pet dog to get water, said he is staying in a car because of his reluctance to stay at one of the three evacuation centers in the area. He also said he doesn’t want to sleep at home because aftershocks made him feel uneasy.“It’s…