Several earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, struck Japan earlier this year near the Noto Peninsula. The damage on site is significant.
“A catastrophic situation.” The Japanese began 2024 badly hit, hit by a devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the center of the country Japan Meteorological Center (JMA). According to a preliminary final report submitted by the authorities on Wednesday, January 3, there are at least 64 victims and 300 people were injured, including around twenty seriously injured.
Satellite images provided by Maxar and available below show the extent of the destruction. One of the photos taken on January 2, 2024 shows significant damage in the Japanese city of Wajima, a small town in the north of the Noto Peninsula, the epicenter of the earthquake.
“Almost no house is standing”
Below, the difference from a previously taken photo of the same place is undeniable: the buildings and houses have become ruins.
The observation is similar in other cities, as shown in the following other satellite images, this time taken in Suzu, a small city at the tip of the Noto Peninsula and in Ishikawa Prefecture.
“Around 90% of the houses are completely or almost completely destroyed (…). The situation is catastrophic,” said Masuhiro Izumiya, the mayor of Suzu.
“Hardly any houses” are still standing, he said, according to the television station TBS. “The situation is catastrophic.”
Thousands of buildings on the Noto peninsula were completely or partially destroyed by the disaster and could still be destroyed by aftershocks, making rescue operations delicate. With every alarm, rescuers have to urgently evacuate the rubble. On January 1, waves more than a meter high also washed away many boats stranded on the wharves or coastal roads.
According to local authorities, nearly 31,800 people have sought refuge in emergency shelters so far, while nearly 34,000 households in the Ishikawa region are still without power. In addition, many Japanese currently do not have access to running water.
In response to this massive destruction, emergency services are organizing to try to find survivors of Monday's earthquake. However, the weather conditions are making the work of rescue teams significantly more difficult, as they face heavy rains and possible landslides.
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 time, according to the operators, the series of earthquakes caused only minor damage to the nuclear power plants installed along the coast.