KUMAMOTO, Japan - More than 9,000 people continued to take refuge at evacuation centers in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto on Friday, three days after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit the area, while many households remained without water or electricity.

According to the prefecture, the death toll as of Friday reached 36, and six were in serious condition. The number includes nine dead at Nippon Paper Industries Co.'s plant in Yatsushiro and seven at an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima that was rocked by an explosion following the temblor.

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