Searchers found a man’s body Wednesday in a landslide-hit area in southern Japan, bringing the death toll to 48 from two powerful earthquakes last week.
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USA airlifts delivered water, bread, ready-to-eat food and other emergency supplies to the remote area of southern Japan stricken by the two powerful earthquakes.
Authorities said at least 42 people had died and almost 1,100 were injured in the two quakes that hit the region near Kumamoto city late Thursday and early Sunday.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the search for survivors amid piles of rubble as a “race against the clock”, noting bad weather, continuing aftershocks and the threat of landslides made a dire situation worse. Forecasts for heavy rains, which would make land and collapsed buildings even more unstable, added to the urgency of the searches.
Japanese media reported that a 51-year-old woman from Kumamoto had died on Monday from the condition.
Kumamoto prefecture was hit by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Thursday evening local time – the first of several tremors.
The US has about 50,000 troops stationed in Japan, and the American military played a large role in rescue and relief after the devastating 2011 natural disaster and tsunami on the northeastern coast. America has several military bases and about 50,000 troops in the country.
Kyushu makes up nearly 9 percent of Japan’s economy, experts say the quake comes at a bad time for japan.
The quakes have had commercial repercussions outside the region too, with Toyota suspending most vehicle production in Japan because of parts shortages.
Companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Honda Motors Corporation, Sony Corporation, among others have already suspended productions due to the quake in south-western Japan.
Disruptions to supply chains caused the benchmark Nikkei stock exchange to shed 3.2% in value on Monday.
U.S. Forces, Japan said troops were preparing to provide aerial support for Japan’s relief efforts.
Officials in Japan have housed some 250 evacuees in a prison after more than 100,000 people sought emergency shelter in the wake of a series of deadly earthquakes earlier in the week.
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Thousands of homes are still without electricity, water, or gas, and rail services remain disrupted.
