TOKYO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture has risen to 38, while more than 9,200 people remain in evacuation shelters, local authorities said Sunday.
At a disaster response headquarters meeting held Sunday morning, the Kumamoto prefectural government announced that 38 people have been confirmed dead, including two whose deaths are still being investigated to determine whether they were caused by the magnitude 7.1 tremor.
A total of 210 evacuation shelters remain open across the prefecture, accommodating 9,226 evacuees, officials said.
Officials said ambulances had transported 30 people with suspected symptoms of heatstroke on Saturday, with temperatures in some parts of Kumamoto Prefecture reaching over 37 degrees Celsius.
Authorities warned that hot weather is expected to persist in the affected areas and said they will strengthen measures to prevent heatstroke at evacuation centers by accelerating the deployment of portable spot coolers and increasing drinking water supplies.
Efforts to restore water and other infrastructure are continuing, with some 69,400 households still without water amid scorching heat.
The prefecture also reported extensive damage to residential buildings. As of Sunday morning, 181 houses had been destroyed, 20 had sustained major partial damage, 225 had been partially destroyed, and 1,639 had suffered minor damage. Damage assessments are still underway for another 1,584 buildings, bringing the total number of affected structures to 3,649.
Officials cautioned that the full extent of the damage has yet to be determined and that the number of damaged buildings could increase significantly as inspections continue.
Meanwhile, the prefectural government said search and rescue operations had ended Saturday at an Aeon shopping mall where seven workers died and five were injured in an explosion shortly after the earthquake struck on Tuesday afternoon.
The powerful earthquake struck the southwestern prefecture at 4:27 p.m. local time Tuesday, registering a maximum of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, a level at which people cannot remain standing or move without crawling and may be thrown through the air. ■