On a Tuesday in July, the earth beneath Kumamoto prefecture on Japan's Kyushu island shifted with sudden and indiscriminate force, as it has done before in this seismically burdened region. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake killed at least 28 people, collapsed buildings, and displaced thousands — only to hand survivors a second ordeal: sheltering in crowded evacuation centres as temperatures threatened to reach 39 degrees Celsius. The disaster unfolds as a reminder that catastrophe rarely arrives alone, and that the work of endurance begins long after the shaking stops.
Japan earthquake death toll reaches 28 as rescuers battle extreme heat
28 people confirmed dead with thousands displaced; at least 5 dead at a factory collapse and multiple deaths at a shopping mall explosion; 11 people trapped in factory with 7 rescued.