01/08/2024 04:35 (current 01/08/2024 04:35)
Traces of devastation after the serious earthquake ©APA/JIJI Press
A week after Japan's devastating earthquake, the death toll rose to 161. Authorities in Ishikawa Prefecture said on Monday that 103 people were still missing. There are also around 560 injured.
The main Japanese island of Honshu was rocked by a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake as well as dozens of aftershocks and hit by tsunami waves on New Year's Day. Numerous houses collapsed or were damaged on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. Roads were impassable and a massive fire destroyed a historic shopping district in the port city of Wajima.
Thousands of helpers are deployed to the disaster region. The rescue work was made difficult by the snowfall of the last few days.
Japan is rocked by hundreds of earthquakes every year. Most leave no damage, which is in part due to strict building regulations that have been in place for decades. Over the past five years, earthquakes have increased in intensity and frequency, especially in the Noto region.