Japan quake toll hits 34 as survivors struggle in heat

The official death toll from the 7.1-magnitude earthquake in southwestern Japan has risen to 30. Meanwhile survivors and rescue workers battle punishing summer heat forecast to reach nearly 40°C. The majority of severe casualties occurred at a collapsed smokestack area at the Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro city.

These followed a suspected gas explosion at the Aeon shopping mall in Kashima, Kumamoto prefecture. Japan's military deployed about 300 air-conditioning units to evacuation centers, where thousands of displaced residents sheltered from high humidity and extreme temperatures.