Residents of Hikawa-cho in Kumamoto Prefecture are sleeping in cars after a magnitude-7 earthquake destroyed local infrastructure [1].
The crisis highlights the vulnerability of elderly populations and the failure of designated disaster hubs when basic utilities like water and electricity vanish.
Many residents have gathered at the town hall's disaster-response parking lot, but the site itself shows signs of damage, including cracks in the surface [2]. With electricity and water services cut off across most of the town, residents are battling extreme heat while confined to their vehicles [2].
Among those displaced is 81-year-old Matsunaga Katsuo [3]. Matsunaga suffered injuries during the quake and struggled to treat them without access to clean water [4]. "I fell, and here, blood flowed and hardened. There is no water, and I haven't wiped it," Matsunaga said [4].
His son, Yasu, who lives in Kumamoto City, expressed shock at the level of destruction upon visiting the area [5]. The earthquake, which struck on April 28, 2024, left the community in darkness by the second night following the event [6].
"The sun has set and we have reached the second night. The area is pitch black. The power outage continues," Yukihiro Kiiire said [6].
Hikawa-cho has a population of approximately 10,000 people [1]. The scale of the damage, which includes collapsed houses and broken roads, has made returning to homes impossible for many, leaving them dependent on car-based shelters in the absence of functional emergency housing [2].
“The area is pitch black. The power outage continues.”
This situation underscores a critical gap in disaster preparedness where 'safe zones' like town hall parking lots provide physical space but fail to provide the essential life-support systems—water, power, and climate control—necessary to protect high-risk groups such as the elderly during extreme weather.
