"Earthquake" Triggers Another Midnight Alert... Magnitude 7 Strikes, Leaving Residents Struggling with Heat and Water Outages

[Anchor]

Three days after the powerful earthquake struck, aftershocks continue to hit Kumamoto. Let us connect live to the scene.

Mun Junmo, Correspondent, there was a fairly strong aftershock last night (the 29th), are you okay?

[Reporter]

Yes, a magnitude 5.8 aftershock occurred at 10:19 last night.

At that time, our reporting team was at a restaurant in downtown Kumamoto.

Loud earthquake alarms blared amid the shaking.

Tremors of varying sizes continued at intervals of two to three hours until this morning.

I am currently standing in front of the 400-year-old Kumamoto Castle wall, which collapsed on the first day of the earthquake.

It was undergoing restoration due to damage from an earthquake 10 years ago, but it has been damaged once again.

Authorities are currently investigating the damaged areas and reportedly plan to redraw the entire restoration plan.

[Anchor]

I understand you also visited a village that suffered earthquake damage, Correspondent Mun?

[Reporter]

Yes, I visited a village called Hikawa, which suffered the impact of the highest-level seismic intensity of 7.

Let us take a look together.

The ground suddenly shakes, and a large farming machine that was standing still falls over.

This is footage filmed in Hikawa village the day before yesterday.

Toppled utility poles are left blocking the roads, and the railway tracks are bent like taffy.

Houses have collapsed, leaving roofs sunken flat onto the ground.

Old houses are almost entirely left in ruins.

As you can see here, wooden houses are completely destroyed.

Due to the impact at the time, indoor items such as electric rice cookers, tableware, chairs, and cabinets were tossed outside.

The situation is made even more agonizing by the scorching heatwave exceeding 35°C (95°F) and power outages.

[Sawada / Hikawa Resident: The weather is extremely hot and temperatures are high, so I am worried about heatstroke. The most agonizing part is not being able to use the air conditioner.]

As school gymnasiums, which are typically used as evacuation shelters, were also damaged, residents are pitching tents in yards or sleeping in their cars.

However, due to the difficulty of obtaining gasoline, they cannot even turn on car air conditioners.

[Yamano / Hikawa Resident: Many gas stations are closed because of power outages. At the stations that are open, people flock in and even after waiting in line for hours, fuel runs out and they leave empty-handed.]

Indeed, many gas stations were closed, and long lines formed at the ones that remained open.

Counting them, there were over 40 cars, and purchases were limited to a maximum of 20 liters at a time.

Water outages are another major problem.

With no drinking or washing water, residents depend on water supplied by the Self-Defense Forces, which falls far short of demand.

[Masuzumi / Hikawa Resident: It is 5 liters per person, 10 liters for a couple, which runs out quickly.]

Many convenience stores are also closed due to power and water outages, making it difficult to obtain daily necessities.

As the risk of aftershocks delays facility restoration work, the suffering of residents is expected to deepen for the time being.

(Camera: Han Chul-min, Moon Hyun-jin | Video Editing: Chae Chul-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.