The total death toll from last Saturday's earthquakes in north Japan's Niigata Prefecture reached 35 on Thursday, Kyodo News reported.

With Niigata entering its sixth day Thursday since the first powerful jolts devastated the area, the estimated 98,300 evacuees in the prefecture saw temperatures drop further in the morning as many still wait for the construction of temporary housing.

As of Thursday morning, there were 579 evacuation centers in 15 municipalities, the prefecture said, adding that the number of stoves, at about 1,000, appears to be insufficient.

According to Kyodo, the prefecture is constructing temporary housing in the cities of Nagaoka and Ojiya, which were severely hit by the quakes, for about 2,000 households, but it is expected to take up to three weeks to complete.

Meanwhile, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning of possible aftershocks measuring 6 on the Richter scale occurring within several days.