The death toll from the New Year’s earthquake in Japan It rose to 161 on Monday, from 128 the day before, authorities reported. Meanwhile, the number of people whose whereabouts are unknown fell to 103 from 195, according to officials in the central region of Ishikawa, the epicenter of the magnitude 7.5 earthquake on January 1.
The quake toppled buildings, sparked a fire and caused tsunami waves.
LOOK: “We can no longer live in our house,” lament those affected by the earthquake in Japan
Thousands of rescuers arrived from all over Japan to support the relief efforts, with difficulties due to road closures and about a thousand landslides.
Additionally, the area has faced snowfall for the past two days, further complicating operations. rescue.
Against all odds, A nonagenarian who remained under the rubble of a collapsed house in the city of Suzu for five days was rescued on Saturday.
“Hold on!” the rescuers shouted in the rain., according to a video filmed by the police and broadcast by local media. “Everything is going to be fine,” “stay positive,” they asked her.
But many were less fortunate. In the city of Anamizuon the same peninsula, a 52-year-old man who lost his 21-year-old son and his in-laws was waiting for news from other members of his family.
“I wish they were alive, I don’t want to be alone,” he told NHK public television.
Rain and snow
The freezing weather could also worsen conditions for the more than 28,800 people in 404 government shelters.
The constant rain increased the danger of new landslides, while Snowfall could cause more buildings to collapse under its weightwarned the regional government.
At least 2,000 people in several communities on the peninsula I notice They were isolated by damaged roads, with landslides that also prevented the arrival of relief vehicles.
For this reason, assistance materials have been slow to reach areas that are without water and electricity.
About 20,700 houses in the region of Ishikawa They remained without electricity on Sunday and more than 66,100 lacked water.
“The first priority has been to rescue people who are under the rubble and reach isolated communities,” declared Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in an interview with NHK on Sunday.
The military has sent small groups of troops on foot to each of the isolated communities, he said.
The government has also “deployed several police and fire helicopters (…) to access them from the sky,” Kishida added.
Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes each year and most cause no damage, due to strict building codes in place for more than four decades.
But many of the buildings in the country are old, especially in communities in rural areas such as I notice.
Japan still retains the memory of the devastating 2011 earthquake that triggered a tsunami, left some 18,500 dead or missing and caused a nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima plant.
