Over 1,500 still in shelters two months after Kumamoto quake

Kumamoto – More than 1,500 people are still staying in evacuation centers two months after the July 28 earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture that killed 38 people, including those who died from suspected indirect causes.

Meanwhile, some progress has been made toward reconstruction as evacuees started to move into temporary housing and the Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train line was fully reopened.

As of Friday, 1,514 people were staying in shelters at 32 locations in the prefecture, according to the prefectural government.

The quake, whose maximum seismic intensity reached 7, the highest level on the Japanese shindo scale, caused damage to 71,518 residential buildings, with 9,540 of them completely or partially destroyed.

The assessment of damage was not finished for 10,663 buildings. Only 776 cases of publicly financed demolition of damaged housing had been approved.

Emergency restoration work for water services was completed after the temblor caused water outages for up to 108,000 households.

However, in Yatsushiro, where many residents rely on well water, damage to wells has been reported at about 4,500 households. It is uncertain when restoration work will be fully completed.

A total of 182 emergency temporary housing units have been established in 10 complexes in Hikawa, Kosa, Uki and Kumamoto, the prefecture’s namesake capital. Evacuees have begun moving into the housing.

An additional 700 units in 25 complexes are scheduled to be built so that evacuees can move into them by year-end. Construction of temporary housing has also started on the grounds of residents’ homes in Hikawa.

On Sept. 18, Kyushu Railway, or JR Kyushu, reopened the Kyushu Shinkansen line’s section between Kumamoto and Shin-Minamata stations, which had been closed since the quake.

JR Kyushu has also announced that it will resume operations between Uto and Yatsushiro stations on the Kagoshima Line on Oct. 10.

In October, a publicly funded Kumamoto travel discount program will start, covering up to 60% of travel and accommodation costs to support tourism.

About 370 accommodation facilities in the prefecture are set to participate, and sales of travel and accommodation plans eligible for discounts started on Sept. 15. Some facilities reached their planned limits shortly after the start.