Staggered Earthquakes Like 10 Years Ago?… Heatwave Compounds the Crisis

[Anchor]

Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan, which has been struck by a strong earthquake, is the same region where two earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher hit just two days apart 10 years ago. At that time, around 270 people lost their lives, and warnings are now being issued that an even stronger earthquake could strike within a week this time as well.

Reporter Kim Young-a has the details.

[Reporter]

Roads are sliced into pieces as if chopped with a knife, and mountains with collapsed sections have turned into sheer cliffs.

On April 14, 2016, a magnitude 6.5 strong earthquake hit Kumamoto Prefecture.

Then, 28 hours later, an even more powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck again.

Due to the two strong earthquakes that occurred within two days, over 200,000 houses were damaged, and older wooden houses were completely destroyed beyond recognition.

The Japanese government is warning that there is a high possibility of an even stronger earthquake hitting within a week this time as well.

In particular, it forecasted that the next two to three days will be the most critical period.

With the nightmare revived after 10 years, a significant number of residents have moved outside buildings to spend time on the streets or in cars.

[Earthquake-affected Resident: Strong aftershocks keep continuing, so we simply cannot go inside. That is why everyone is sleeping inside their cars overnight.]

The problem is the unprecedented heatwave.

During the consecutive earthquakes in 2016, a total of around 270 people died in Kumamoto Prefecture, of which direct deaths caused by the earthquakes were around 50.

Among the remaining more than 200 victims, a considerable number died from pulmonary embolism while living in cars due to the fear of aftershocks, or were chronic patients who could not receive treatment because hospitals were paralyzed by power outages and water supply disruptions.

Viral diseases also spread in poorly equipped evacuation centers.

[Takaichi / Japanese Prime Minister: Since last night, we have also been proactively providing equipment such as air conditioners and portable generators to evacuation centers.]

Kumamoto Prefecture reached a high temperature of 35°C (95°F), and with temperatures forecasted to soar up to 40°C (104°F) early next week, heatstroke alerts have been issued.

The compounding heatwave is driving evacuees into an even greater threat than 10 years ago.

(Video Editing: Kim Byung-jik)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.