The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Japan on Tuesday has climbed to 34, with rescuers continuing their efforts to find survivors. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit the southern main island of Kyushu, triggering a mall explosion, toppling a factory chimney, and flattening homes.

Thousands of households remain without electricity and tens of thousands without tap water. Many residents are staying in shelters or their vehicles, raising concerns among medical workers about heat-related illnesses in the region, which is experiencing punishing summer temperatures.

As search operations entered their fourth day, officials confirmed 34 quake-related deaths, with one additional death under investigation. Dozens of people have sustained injuries. As of Friday afternoon, more than 79,000 homes were without water and over 2,700 without electricity. Authorities reported that more than 9,000 people were in shelters, where efforts were underway to provide air conditioning.

Fuel has also become scarce, as power outages have disabled gas stations and quake damage has disrupted deliveries. Many residents have resorted to sleeping in their cars, but the fuel shortage makes it difficult to keep air conditioning running during the sweltering heat. Temperatures in Kumamoto city were forecast to reach 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday, following a Thursday high of 35 C (95 F).

Officials stated that Friday afternoon was a critical time for rescue efforts, as survival chances typically decline after the first three days. Searchers focused on the collapsed Aeon Mall shopping center in Kashima, where significant damage was recorded. The mall was crowded when the earthquake struck.

The company reported that approximately 3,000 shoppers were evacuated before an explosion occurred in another section of the mall. Some staff remained inside, and the mall's second floor collapsed, trapping individuals. At the mall site, seven deaths were confirmed and 11 people were rescued. Authorities have not disclosed the number of individuals still missing there.

Separately, a search operation concluded at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro, where a chimney collapsed. Searchers rescued 11 people from the factory site, and nine others were confirmed dead.

Smaller-scale searches continued on Friday at the locations of collapsed houses in heavily impacted towns in southern Kumamoto. A precise figure for the number of missing persons has not been released.

Transportation services have been affected. Shinkansen bullet trains between Kumamoto and Fukuoka have resumed with reduced services, but lines connecting cities to Kagoshima remain suspended. Local trains in the affected areas, particularly in southern Kumamoto, are also halted due to damage.

In the town of Hikawa, one of the most severely damaged areas, officials reported that over 800 of the town's 4,500 homes were destroyed or damaged. Many residents are sleeping in their vehicles due to damage to their homes or fear of further tremors. Ayako Sudo, a woman in her 70s, described the constant fear of sleeping in her wooden house during earthquakes, stating, "I think I’d really prefer somewhere that feels safe."