From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 3 hours ago, updated 3 hours ago
The magnitude 7.5 quake shook the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, collapsing buildings and destroying roads. KIM KYUNG-HOON / Portal
The 72-hour window considered crucial for finding survivors after a natural disaster closed on Thursday.
A preliminary report from the Ishikawa department said at least 242 people were missing in central Japan on the morning of Jan. 5, nearly four days after the powerful New Year's quake. Authorities in this department, located on the Sea of Japan coast, also said they have already recorded 92 deaths, a toll expected to rise as emergency services continue to sift through the rubble of the disaster.
The magnitude 7.5 quake, felt as far as Tokyo, 300 km away, shook the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa department, a narrow strip of land that extends about 100 kilometers into the sea of Japan, collapsing buildings and devastating roads. The 72-hour window considered crucial for finding survivors after a natural disaster closed Thursday, and Ishikawa Gov. Hiroshi Hase said he feared “the survival rate of those in need of rescue will not suddenly drop.” “
Japan is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is one of the countries with the most frequent earthquakes. The Japanese archipelago is haunted by the memory of the terrible 9.0 magnitude earthquake that was followed by a huge tsunami on its northeastern shores in March 2011, a disaster that left some 20,000 people dead or missing. This disaster also led to the Fukushima nuclear accident, the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.