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Risks of sleeping in a car during evacuation: lessons from the Kumamoto earthquake

12.07.2026 05:11 1 min 3 sources
chunichi.co.jp JPN + 2 more
Risks of sleeping in a car during evacuation: lessons from the Kumamoto earthquake

In Brief

The 2016 Kumamoto earthquake showed the danger of sleeping in a car: thromboembolism and the death of an 89-year-old woman. Authorities developed a digital tracking system and safe sleeping guidelines.

The 2016 Kumamoto earthquake led to mass evacuation, with 70% of residents sleeping in their cars. This caused a spike in economy-class syndrome (thromboembolism) and deaths, including an 89-year-old woman who suffocated due to lack of care in a cramped car. Among the 220 disaster-related deaths in the prefecture were those who had been in cars.

City authorities developed a digital system to track evacuees in cars and provide targeted aid. They also issued safe sleeping guidelines, recommending a flat, soft sleeping surface. Earthquakes have increased in Japan: on April 20 in Aomori and April 27 in Hokkaido, intensity 5 was recorded.

Aggregated by OpenVan.camp from the public sources listed below, with AI-assisted translation and summary. We always link to the original source. Machine translation may differ from the original -- check the source for important details. Images and content remain the property of their respective owners. Copyright information

Story sources

Risks of sleeping in cars during evacuation: lessons from Kumamoto earthquake

04.05.2026 chunichi.co.jp JPN Original source

Safe Car Sleeping During Evacuation: Recommendations

28.04.2026 news.yahoo.co.jp JPN Original source

Difficulties of Car Evacuation 10 Years After Kumamoto Earthquake

13.04.2026 news.web.nhk JPN Original source

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Best regions in the coming days

Hokkaidō +20°·17 km/h
83
Nagano Prefecture +25°·43 km/h
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Aomori Prefecture +23°·30 km/h
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Akita Prefecture +24°·18 km/h
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73
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Kōchi Prefecture +30°·10 km/h
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