Hope dwindles for rescue in southwestern Japan quake as death toll climbs to 25

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 25 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. Of the deaths given in the latest tally, 25 have been confirmed as related to the disaster, but there were nine more deaths under investigation as likely to be connected, the Kumamoto prefectural government said. The quake left at least 86 people injured, five of them seriously, it said.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 19,000 homes were still without electricity and more than 9,000 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 heatstroke 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 difficult to turn over while sleeping in a car,” he said, but that living at a shelter is even more …