One week after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28, power restoration is making progress in affected areas, but water outages continue across many communities.

At an evacuation shelter in the city of Yatsushiro, water was distributed to residents.

S/ Resident / The water is running again, but it’s muddy and cannot be used.

In the city of Uki, where the uppermost seismic intensity of 7 was recorded, residents lined up at city hall from the morning to apply for disaster damage certificates that are required to receive public assistance.

The city increased the daily application processing limit from the initial 200 people to 470 people.

At an evacuation facility in the city, heat prevention measures were implemented.

S/ Reporter / At an evacuation shelter in Uki City, work has been underway since morning to enable the use of air conditioners.

According to city officials, the installation of air conditioners has been completed at all 11 evacuation shelters in Uki.

Volunteer registration is also moving forward. 

On August 4, a disaster volunteer center opened in the city of Kumamoto and began accepting volunteers to help with tasks such as cleaning up at homes.

S/ University student participating as volunteer / I hope we can also bring encouraging smiles.

Volunteer support is provided to city residents affected by the earthquake and to households of elderly people, those with disabilities and others who cannot clean up on their own.