Earthquakes continued on Tuesday in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto as residents struggle to deal with the aftermath of the disaster.
More than 1,180 quakes with an intensity of one or higher on the Japanese scale of zero to 7 have occurred since the first massive earthquake on April 14th.
The quakes killed 49 people in 7 municipalities. Seventeen people are believed to have died due to stress or illness during evacuation.
Prefectural officials say the quakes damaged about 23,000 houses, and 28,000 more may have been affected.
The officials say more than 19,000 people have been evacuated.
More than 30,000 houses are feared to have been damaged in Kumamoto City. The city government on Tuesday drew lots to allocate vacant public housing to people whose homes are unfit to live in.
Nearly 4,000 applications were made for about 250 houses on offer. For the most competitive district, there were almost 90 applications for one home.
The city plans to open 18 new evacuation shelters with better amenities and relocate 3,000 people this week.
The quakes have dealt a blow to agriculture and manufacturing.
In Mifune Town, near Kumamoto City, a farmer who had grown rice for 50 years had to give up planting rice seedlings this year as irrigation channels and footpaths between paddies have been damaged.
A company that produces equipment for automakers has suspended its operations because of quake damage.
Relocating the factory will cost roughly 3 million dollars — 1.5 times its annual sales.
The firm’s president says he wants to restart his business by seeking help from lenders and the local authorities.
Source and image: NHK
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