New Delhi, Aug. 3 -- Residents in southwestern Japan camped in classrooms and vehicles Thursday, stocked up on water and tried to get back to normal, two days after a powerful quake set off an explosion at a mall, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes in a disaster that killed at least 25 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. The number of people missing was unclear.

Of the deaths given in the latest tally, 25 have been confirmed as related to the disaster, but there were nine more deaths under investigation as likely to be connected, the Kumamoto prefectural government said. Th...