Japan quake leaves lasting scars for survivors

YATSUSHIRO, Japan — Hirosuke Shimada's home remained largely intact after this week's earthquake in southwestern Japan, but the violent shaking left him, his wife and their three daughters too frightened to sleep inside. The family has since been living in a tent in their front yard.

Across town, carpenter Makoto Sawatari inspected crumbling plaster, shattered roof tiles and cracked windows as he considered the cost of rebuilding his home in the coastal city of Yatsushiro, nearly a decade after another major earthquake damaged it.

Tuesday's magnitude-7.1 earthquake killed at least 25 people, but for thousands of survivors — especially those living near the epicenter in areas such as Yatsushiro — the psychological and financial impact is expected to continue long after the immediate disaster.

"It was a feeling of, not this again," said Sawatari, 52, as he assessed repair costs under the intense summer heat while his wife and other family members cleaned inside their damaged home. "We spent about 10 years getting things back to the way we wanted."

Sawatari estimated the repairs could cost more than 10 million yen ($61,000), more than double the amount he spent after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, which killed more than 260 people and damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of homes.

A decade later, the historic city of Yatsushiro remains marked by collapsed houses. Many homes are still without running water, while some have lost electricity as temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday. Local officials have not provided a clear timeline for restoring the city's damaged infrastructure.

Too Terrified to Return

Outside his tent, Shimada, 46, said his home also survived the 2016 earthquakes, which he credited to its strong beams and solid foundation. Despite the house remaining standing, his family, including his youngest daughter who is 3 years old, has chosen to stay in the uncomfortable tent rather than return to their air-conditioned rooms.

"The house is all right, but I'm still too scared to stay inside," Shimada's wife, Yuka, said while resting in the tent.

Earlier that day, she rushed outside after an aftershock struck the house while she was preparing lunch.

When the main earthquake struck Tuesday afternoon, Yuka took shelter under a desk at the nursery school where she worked before helping evacuate the children to the playground. She said the experience was terrifying.

Despite his home suffering damage from two major earthquakes, Sawatari said he had no plans to leave the property.

"This is the only place I can live, so it cannot be helped," he said after spending much of the day trying to recover belongings from his house, where floors had become uneven and walls were cracked.

However, returning home may take time. Sawatari said he expects to spend the coming months repairing other people's houses before he can focus on his own.

"My house will probably be the last," he said.

-Reporting by Tim Kelly, Tom Bateman and Issei Kato; Editing by John Geddie and Sharon Singleton/Reuters