The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture on 28 July has risen to 39, with 205 people injured, local authorities said on Saturday.
According to the prefecture’s disaster management headquarters, 23 of the injured are in a serious condition, The Japan Times reported.
The earthquake’s epicentre was in Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu, in south-western Japan, at a depth of 10 kilometres.
The quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and registered the maximum level of 7 on Japan’s Shindo seismic intensity scale in the cities of Uki and Hikawa, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The earthquake damaged about 18,000 homes across the prefecture. At least 699 houses were completely destroyed and around 6,500 people are still staying in evacuation centres. A further 36,400 households remain without running water, The Japan Times said.
