KUMAMOTO: Rural communities in southwestern Japan were struggling to get their lives back to normal Thursday, two days after a powerful earthquake set off an explosion at a mall, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes, killing at least 23 people.
Time was running out to find survivors, as rescuers continued to work in the Kumamoto area on Japan 's southern main island of Kyushu, where the magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Tuesday.
