Japan: Death toll rises to 34 after deadly earthquake

Tokyo: The death toll from a powerful earthquake in southwestern Japan has risen to 34 as rescuers continue searching damaged buildings three days after the disaster.The Kumamoto prefectural government said one further death was still being investigated as possibly linked to the magnitude 7.1 quake, meaning the toll could rise to 35. More than 80 people have been injured, including five seriously. 'The strongest quake I have ever experienced'Earthquake survivors have been describing the moment the 7.1 magnitude quake struck Japan's southwestern Kumamoto region."It was the strongest quake I have ever experienced," 73-year-old businessman Kanzo Matsuomoto told the AFP news agency. "I'm not sure if the region will recover from the damage."Tokito Kitagawa was riding his motorcycle at the time of the earthquake and said: "Suddenly, there was a huge noise. I couldn't stay on my feet. I had to crouch down."Kiyoshi Matsunaga, 74, was heading to the supermarket checkout just a few streets away from the collapsed Aeon shopping mall when the shaking began."I was frightened," he told the Associated Press, describing items being scattered from the supermarket shelves."I thought a bomb had gone off," Takateru Sonoda, 41, who runs a combined hair salon and café near the mall, told local news agency Jiji Press."There were people calling on others to evacuate and sirens were ringing out. Nearby roads were gridlocked, it ​was a state of panic."Yuki Kiyozumi, deputy chief priest at a nearby temple, had just returned home from a meeting and was about to feed her cat. She recalled how she had to crawl on the floor because the shaking was so violent and said: "I don't even know if or how we can rebuild again." Hospitals struggle to cope near quake epicentreHospitals near the epicenter have come under severe strain as power outages and a surge in casualties disrupt medical care.A hospital in the Uki district said it was unable to operate after losing electricity in the earthquake."It's become like a field hospital," the head of its administrative department told Japanese public broadcaster NHK.Another hospital in the city suspended new admissions after treating 86 injured people, including three in serious condition, saying it could no longer accept additional emergency cases.