The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Japan earlier this week has risen to 30. The 7.1-magnitude quake caused widespread destruction, triggering an explosion at a shopping mall, toppling a factory chimney and flattening homes in the city of Yatsushiro, while also leaving roads cracked and buildings damaged.Emergency responders are in a race against time to rescue people trapped beneath the rubble, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has mobilised thousands of military personnel to bolster search and rescue operations.Many of the port city's nearly 58,000 households remained without electricity and running water on Thursday as authorities continued restoration efforts.An official leading the relief operations, Matsushita, said it was too early to estimate when the badly damaged water mains would be repaired, adding that the process could take days, weeks or even months."Because of the ⁠summer heat, ⁠the lack of water is especially difficult," he said, as cited by Reuters. With the building's toilets rendered unusable, officials installed temporary emergency toilets over sewer manholes outside, as residents coped with temperatures of around 35°C (95°F) and high humidity.Japan is among the world's most earthquake-prone countries, owing to its location at the convergence of four major tectonic plates.

The island nation also lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a 40,000-kilometre (25,000-mile) belt known for its high seismic and volcanic activity, making it one of the most active earthquake zones globally.Despite the constant threat, Japan has invested heavily in earthquake preparedness, including advanced early warning systems, disaster response mechanisms, evacuation protocols and earthquake-resistant infrastructure, as cited by CNN.The country introduced stricter building standards in the 1980s, which proved highly effective during the 1995 Kobe earthquake that claimed more than 6,000 lives.

Investigations found that most buildings that collapsed had been constructed before the revised codes came into effect, prompting Japan to accelerate efforts to retrofit older structures, strengthen construction standards and further enhance its disaster preparedness and emergency response systems.