KUMAMOTO, Japan - Quake-hit Kumamoto Castle will reopen to visitors later this week, the city said Tuesday, two weeks after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck southwestern Japan.
Kumamoto Castle, designated as a national special historic site, will reopen to visitors Thursday after the city confirmed the safety of the visitor route and the interior of the main tower.
The castle has been closed since the July 28 earthquake, which registered the maximum level of 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in some areas, even as restoration work continues on damage from powerful quakes in 2016.
Two weeks after the quake, 3,714 people remained in 89 evacuation shelters in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu, one of Japan's four main islands, the local government said Tuesday.
The death toll stood at 39, with 26 people seriously injured, while 23,404 houses were destroyed or damaged, a figure that includes estimates, and about 33,300 households remained without water, according to the authorities.
Damage to commerce and industry totaled 95.2 billion yen ($598 million), with the figure expected to rise further.
