Roundup: Japan gov't to build makeshift homes as 47,000 still displaced in quake-hit regions

Japan's government said Tuesday it had secured enough materials to construct around 3,000 temporary housing units to be built in the southwest, which has been rocked by multiple earthquakes and displaced 47,000 people.

Disaster Minister Taro Kono addressing a parliamentary session said Tuesday that the temporary homes would be built as soon as enough land could be secured. He also said that around 1,500 private rental properties had been secured, along with 9,000 pubic units, to help alleviate the ongoing crisis.

"We would like to make all-out efforts so evacuees can be moved to places in a better living environment before it gets hot due to seasonal changes," said Kono.

The southwestern region of Japan is still being rocked by intermittent tremors following a powerful 6.5 magnitude quake striking Kumamoto Prefecture on April 14 and a magnitude 7.3 quake rocking the region on April 16.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency more than 900 aftershocks have occurred since the first major quake.

According to municipal officials, 49 people died in the quakes, with 14 others dying later due to quake-related injuries and ill-health and disease exacerbated by harsh evacuation conditions.

Thirty seven people, according to local reports, are suffering from "economy class syndrome" and have been admitted to hospital.

On April 19, a women in her 50s was pronounced dead in Kumamoto city, marking the first fatal case of the syndrome, that was caused by the victim using her car as a refuge for a prolonged amount of time, leading to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and fatal arterial problems in her lungs.

When the body's movement and blood flow is restricted, as is the case with evacuees who are using their vehicles as shelters in the quake-hit regions, DVT can occur, often in a deep leg vein that runs through the muscles of the calf and the thigh, causing the swelling of the leg. This can sometimes lead to pulmonary embolism as a result of a blood clot breaking off into the bloodstream and blocking one of the blood vessels in the lungs or heart.

Local reports have said that in Kumamoto and surrounding areas, car parks are full, especially in the evenings, with people effectively using their cars as shelters, as the tremors continue to shake the area making it impossible for them to return to damaged homes.

Cases of DVT are on the rise, health officials have said, due to people spending long periods of time in the confines of their vehicles.

The government here has officially designated the damage caused by the earthquakes in the southwest as an extremely severe disaster, meaning that more emergency subsidies can be made available to the hardest hit regions. Enditem