A woman in her seventies has died of suspected heatstroke in Kumamoto prefecture after being found in a car that had run out of petrol, as the death toll from the magnitude-7.1 earthquake that struck southwestern Japan on 28 July rose to 38. The prefectural government said the woman was discovered on 30 July and later died, with officials believing hers may be the first fatality linked to the aftermath of the quake rather than the tremor itself.

The earthquake registered the maximum intensity of 7 on Japan’s seismic scale in the towns of Uki and Hikawa, causing widespread damage. Nine people died at a paper mill in Yatsushiro and seven at a shopping mall in Kashima, while a customer at a separate mall in Uki died after a ceiling collapse. More than 4,600 houses were damaged and water supplies were cut to 46,700 households, according to the prefecture’s disaster response headquarters.

Extreme heat has deepened the crisis. Temperatures in Kumamoto were forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius or higher for the first time on record, and more than 8,500 people remained in evacuation shelters as of Monday. Many survivors have been sleeping in cars to use air conditioning, raising the risk of heat illness and blood clots, particularly among the elderly. The prefectural government has begun moving evacuees to hotels and other secondary facilities, and plans to build 50 makeshift housing units in Uki and 20 in Hikawa.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was scheduled to visit the prefecture to assess needs and discuss central government support, with Kyodo news agency reporting the visit would take place on Monday and other media indicating Sunday. Separately, local authorities urged residents to photograph all damage to their homes before clearing debris, as the images are required to obtain official disaster certificates needed for tax relief, public aid, and temporary housing. The death toll remains provisional, with two further deaths still under investigation for a possible link to the disaster.