Tokyo, July 30 (SANA)The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struckJapan’ssouthwesternKumamotoPrefecture has risen to 28, with dozens of people injured as rescue teams continue to search damaged areas amid persistent aftershocks and intense summer heat.

The Japanese government said on Thursday that the toll includes people whose causes of death are still being investigated to determine whether they were linked to the magnitude-7.1earthquake, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

The earthquake, which struck on Tuesday, destroyed homes, damaged bridges, sparked fires and disrupted electricity and water supplies for tens of thousands of residents across the southern island of Kyushu.

In the city of Kashima, authorities evacuated a shopping center shortly after the quake. About 50 minutes later, a powerful explosion destroyed the building while an unknown number of employees were still inside, according to Japanese authorities.

Rescue efforts have been complicated by a series of aftershocks that have continued to shake the region, while temperatures are expected to climb to 35 degrees Celsius, increasing the risks for survivors and emergency crews.

Kumamoto was also the scene of two devastating earthquakes in 2016 that claimed 273 lives and injured more than 2,800 people.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, sitting at the convergence of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The country continues to live with the legacy of the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck in 2011, killing about 18,500 people and triggering the Fukushima nuclear disaster.