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As search operations continue at the earthquake site in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, the death toll has risen to 34. Meanwhile, it is known that the shopping mall where 7 people died typically serves as a shelter during natural disasters in Japan. Anxiety is growing as even the places meant to be refuge from earthquakes prove unsafe.

This is reporter Kim Yongtae.

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The AEON Mall shopping center in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, exploded just 45 days after completing interior renovations and reopening.

[Yuko / Resident of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan: It felt like a massive explosion went off right next to my ear. I didn't even know it was an earthquake; the sound was so loud it hurt my ears.]

In Japan, large shopping malls are used as shelters during natural disasters like earthquakes or typhoons because they offer spacious areas and food supplies.

The AEON Group has also signed disaster response agreements with some 200 local governments and opened its parking lots to evacuating residents sleeping in cars during the strong earthquake in 2016.

Japanese society is in disarray given that such a refuge site exploded, resulting in 7 deaths so far.

It is suspected that gas pipes were damaged by the earthquake's impact, causing a massive gas leak that led to the explosion. While the AEON Group explained that gas supply is automatically cut off when tremors occur, it has launched inspections of gas facilities at shopping malls nationwide.

[Yoshida / AEON Group Representative (Yesterday): Since we have been operating AEON Malls, there has never been an accident related to the gas supplied. There were no such accidents even during the Great East Japan Earthquake.]

At a Nippon Paper Industries factory, a 100-meter-tall chimney snapped and collapsed onto an office building, killing 8 people.

Japanese media reported that both the buildings and the chimney were built with earthquake-resistant designs.

However, experts point out that if the degree of shaking exceeds manageable limits, or if tremors occur in the middle of the chimney rather than at the base, weaker sections can snap.

As a result, calls are emerging to re-examine seismic standards for large chimneys and tower-style facilities.

Amid emergency recovery efforts for earthquake damage, the death toll has increased to 34, with about 10,000 residents continuing life in evacuation shelters.

(Video Editing: Kim Byeong-jik)