The number of people missing after the strong earthquake off the west coast of Japan on New Year's Day has risen to more than 240. As Japanese media reported today, the government has doubled the number of soldiers sent to the disaster area to 4,600 to support emergency services. In the search for survivors, the first 72 hours are crucial. Anyone who is not rescued during this period will have their chances of survival drastically reduced.
There are dozens of reports that people are still lying under collapsed houses, he said. Mountains of debris, damaged roads, landslides and aftershocks continued to hamper the operation of search and rescue teams.
Portal/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Hundreds of people isolated from the outside world
In Ishikawa Prefecture, the hardest hit, at least 700 people are still isolated from the outside world, he said. Power supply was interrupted to around 30,000 homes and water supply to 80,000 homes, Kyodo news agency reported.
According to local authorities, around 33,000 people still have to stay in hundreds of emergency shelters. Since the magnitude 7.6 New Year's Day earthquake, the Sea of Japan region has been rocked by more than 150 aftershocks.