Search for Missing People in Kumamoto Quake Continues

Kumamoto, April 17 (Jiji Press)--Police, the Self-Defense Forces and other authorities continued search and relief operations in Kumamoto Prefecture on Sunday, where 41 people have been confirmed dead in a series of strong earthquakes that have rocked the prefecture and other parts of the southwestern Japan region of Kyushu since Thursday. The quakes had forced about 110,000 people to evacuate as of the Sunday afternoon in the prefecture alone, the Kumamoto prefectural government said. According officials of the Kumamoto village of Minamiaso, a total of eight people have been unaccounted for in the village--two at accommodation facility "Hinotori," five in the Kawayo district and one in the Tateno district. About 2,500 police officers, SDF troops and other authorities searched for the missing people. A male victim of an apartment building collapse in the village was identified as a student at Tokai University. Also according to the officials, some 450 people who came to take shelter in a gymnasium at Tokai University's Aso Campus have been isolated due to severe road damage and receiving water and foods from an SDF helicopter. In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe clarified intension of accepting relief assistance by the U.S. military. The prime minister also said he has instructed government ministries and agencies to sufficiently provide water, medications and foods to evacuees in afflicted areas. In the town of Mashiki, which was devastated by a big earthquake registering the highest reading on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 on Thursday night, police and other rescue authorities have intensified operations to search for missing people. The Kyushu region had by Sunday morning heavy rainfalls caused by a major low pressure system. According to the Kumamoto prefectural government, there have been no new reports on disasters caused by mudslides and other events. But now that soil of the prefecture has been destabilized by the series of powerful shakes, authorities are staying on high alert against landslides and other rain disasters. As of 2:30 p.m. on Sunday (5:30 p.m. GMT), about 110,000 people had evacuated to 723 locations in the prefecture. Mainly in the city of Kumamoto, water supply halts were affecting 270,000 homes, power outages 70,000 homes and gas supply disruptions 100,000 homes. Meanwhile, the government held the seventh meeting of its emergency disaster response headquarters at the prime minister's office in the morning. At the meeting, Abe told members that the U.S. military informed the government of its readiness to airlift relief supplies to disaster-hit areas and that specific operation plans are being worked out. The U.S. relief operations will get started as soon as all preparations are over, Abe noted. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference that Tokyo and Washington would examine the option of deploying an Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. At the headquarters meeting, the prime minister also ordered all government ministries and agencies to create a cross-sectional team to help afflicted people. "We need to act promptly by quickly grasping the varying needs of those who are suffering from the disaster," Abe stressed. To learn such needs, the government plans to dispatch officials to damaged areas. To cover food shortages in Kumamoto Prefecture, the government has sent meals for 50,000 people, Abe said, adding meals will be provided to 700,000 more people within Sunday. In the prefecture, nine people were killed in a 6.5-magnitude earthquake with an intensity of 7 on Thursday night. Another deadly quake with a preliminary magnitude reading of 7.3, now deemed as the main jolt in the latest series of powerful earthquakes, occurred in the small hours of Saturday, followed by many aftershocks. A numerous number of houses have collapsed in the hardest-hit municipalities of Mashiki and Minamiaso. A massive landslide happened in Minamiaso on Saturday. So far, a total of 41 people have been confirmed dead by Kumamoto police and other authorities, including two other Tokai University students. Most of them were crushed to death. More than 1,000 people were injured. END