Japan's Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry has completed the transfer of patients from hospitals unable to continue operations following a major earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture [1].

This effort ensures that critically ill patients remain under medical care despite widespread infrastructure failure. The disaster, which recorded a maximum intensity of 7, disabled essential water and power systems across the region's healthcare network [1].

A total of 66 medical institutions were damaged in the earthquake [1]. As of 1 p.m. this Thursday, 40 of those facilities were without water, and seven were without power [2]. The water shortages were particularly severe in Yatsushiro City, where 16 facilities reported outages, and Uki City, where nine facilities were affected [4, 5].

Beyond general care, the infrastructure collapse severely impacted specialized treatments. Seven medical institutions reported that they were unable to provide dialysis services due to the outages [6].

Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Ueno said that the ministry has carried out the transfer of patients from hospitals where the continuation of medical services was impossible and that these transfers are being completed in sequence [1].

By 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, the total number of medical institutions still experiencing either power or water outages stood at 45 [7]. The ministry is now shifting its focus toward restoring basic utilities to these facilities to allow them to resume local services.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said it is coordinating with relevant parties to secure power and water supplies for areas where support has been insufficient [1].

“66 medical institutions were damaged in the earthquake”

The completion of patient transfers marks a transition from emergency evacuation to the recovery phase. However, the fact that 45 facilities remain without basic utilities hours after the event highlights a critical vulnerability in regional medical infrastructure. The inability to provide dialysis at seven sites underscores how water and power dependencies can immediately neutralize specialized life-saving equipment during high-intensity seismic events.