European stocks close mixed on Wednesday

European stocks closed mixed across the board on Wednesday.

The United Kingdom's FTSE 100 index rose 0.34 percent to close at 10,908.41 points. France's CAC 40 index fell 0.60 percent to finish at 8,408.27 points. Germany's DAX index fell 0.01 percent to end the session at 25,460.48 points.

The 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday caused severe damage to homes and vital infrastructure, disrupting the lives of local residents.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that the death toll from the powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture has risen to 30.

At a disaster response headquarters meeting held Thursday morning, Kumamoto Prefecture officials said that power outages caused by the earthquakes have affected approximately 22,950 households in the southwestern prefecture.

In Uki City of Kumamoto, one of the hardest-hit areas, many buildings suffered serious structural damage, with some partially collapsing.

"The earthquake caused the ceilings of buildings to collapse and walls to crumble. The whole building is now completely unusable. About 90 percent of the entire house was damaged. Almost all of the damage was caused by the first tremors. After that, only a few fragments fell here and there. All the damage basically was caused by that quake," one resident said.

Kumamoto Prefecture was previously struck by a major earthquake in April 2016. Some residents said Tuesday's quake felt even more powerful than the magnitude 7.0 quake that hit the area in 2016.

"Compared with the earthquake that happened ten years ago, this one was far more severe. It felt like something suddenly shot up from underground with a 'boom' and then dropped back down. I couldn't move at all. When I went outside, the house in front of mine had already collapsed. This earthquake was completely different from the one ten years ago. This was truly terrifying," said one resident.

Beyond damaged homes, the earthquake severely disrupted essential infrastructure, including water and gas supplies, making it difficult for residents to maintain basic living conditions.

"We still have food for today, but I don't know what will happen tomorrow. Especially with this hot weather, I think the most important thing is securing the water supply, for both drinking water and water for the toilet. Also, the gas hasn't been restored yet. Our household uses gas, so we can't cook. I hope the stores can restock more bread, boxed meals, and other food. If those things start running out, I'm really worried about what will happen next," one resident said.

Meanwhile, many locals remain concerned about possible aftershocks.

"If there are more aftershocks, I think these things might fall over, so for now I'm just leaving them as they are. There are also glass fragments and other things, and we'll have to wait and see before deciding what to do. The first thing for us is to restore the basic conditions for normal daily life," said one resident.