Japan Earthquake Death Toll Hits 34 as Families Shelter in Cars

Ten days after a magnitude 7.1 quake struck southwestern Japan, rescue crews are still working the rubble of a collapsed shopping mall in Kumamoto

By Ingrid "Shortwave" Frost

The death toll from the earthquake that struck southwestern Japan has climbed to 34, with six more people seriously injured, according to Al Jazeera and NPR News. Searchers are continuing to work in the Kumamoto area, including at the site of a collapsed mall — among the most serious damage recorded from the disaster.

With homes destroyed across the region, residents have resorted to sleeping in their cars for shelter, Al Jazeera reported, a sign that emergency housing has not kept pace with the scale of displacement more than a week after the ground stopped shaking.

Neither source provided a full accounting of how many people remain displaced or unaccounted for, and the rescue operation's timeline for winding down was not specified. What is clear is that the human cost is still being counted, not concluded — the toll has risen since initial reports, and officials have not said whether more revisions are expected.

— Compiled from reporting by NPR News and Al Jazeera.

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