MINAMIASO, Japan (AP) – In this mountainous Japanese town known for its hot springs, prized beef and Jersey milk cows, more than 2,000 people have taken refuge from earthquakes at school gymnasiums and community centers, surviving on rock-hard biscuits, cold rice balls and bread.
There is no running water to bathe or flush toilets. Many elderly evacuees rest on futon mattresses they brought from home. The bedding covers the floor, and there is no privacy.
“Now I realize I haven’t taken a bath since we came here,” said Yachiyo Fuchigami, a 64-year-old woman in a hilltop gymnasium in the town of Minamiaso on the southern island of Kyushu.
She is among some 100,000 people who left their homes after two shuddering earthquakes on successive nights last week – late Thursday and early Saturday – knocked over hundreds of buildings and killed at least 45 people.
Even many whose houses are still standing are afraid to sleep inside because of aftershocks. Many are sleeping in buildings converted into temporary shelters or in their cars.