Rescuers redoubled efforts on Saturday among the rubble to recover bodies five days from the fort earthquake that shook central Japanwith a confirmed death toll of 98 people.
The death toll from the New Year’s Day earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.6, is expected to increase, with 211 people in the region of Ishikawa on the island of Honshu, remain unlocated.
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The work of hundreds of rescuers has been hampered by bad weather – with snow forecast on Sunday – and roads made unusable by large cracks, falling trees and rocks.
Two elderly women were pulled from the rubble of their homes on Thursday, but there has been nothing to celebrate since.
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Residences where fatalities are discovered are marked and left until a coroner can come with family members to identify the body.
In the city’s port, fishing boats were sunk or lifted like toys to the shore by the tsunami waves, which apparently also swept away a person.
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In the vicinity of Wajimaa large fire destroyed hundreds of structures on the first day and tore down a seven-story building.
Authorities said Saturday morning that 211 people had not yet been found, down from the previous count of 222.
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The death toll rose from 94 to 98, with more than 450 injured. The deaths include a high school student who was visiting her family, reports said.
Around 23,800 homes were left without electricity in the Ishikawa region and more than 66,400 without drinking water. Water and power outages have also affected hospitals and care facilities for the elderly and disabled.
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More than 31,400 people have been housed in 357 government shelters, while many communities remain isolated.
Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes each year and most cause no damage, with strict building regulations in place for more than four decades.
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A large magnitude 9 underwater earthquake in 2011 triggered a tsunami that left some 18,500 dead or missing, and also flooded the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
