At least 55 people have died in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture following the powerful earthquake that struck central Japan on New Year's Day, public broadcaster NHK reported this Tuesday, as emergency teams continue to work to find survivors. The magnitude 7.6 earthquake caused significant structural damage and fires and forced the activation of a tsunami warning along the country's west coast, which was lifted Tuesday morning. Japanese authorities say it is difficult for them to assess the full extent of the disaster because more than 140 aftershocks have torpedoed rescue operations since the first quake. The National Weather Service has warned that stronger shaking could occur in the coming days.
“The search and rescue of those affected by the earthquake is a fight against time,” said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida this Tuesday during an emergency meeting, quoted by the Kyodo news agency. The Japanese leader highlighted the difficulties that rescue teams are having in reaching the northern areas of the Noto Peninsula (Ishikawa Prefecture) due to the poor condition of the destroyed roads, for which the central government has coordinated aid deliveries by ship. Numerous fires caused severe damage to more than 200 buildings and infrastructure, Kishida added.
Damage to a road on the Noto peninsula after the earthquake this Tuesday. Hiro Komae (AP)
A woman rides a bicycle through the rubble of several damaged homes on the Noto Peninsula overlooking the Sea of Japan on Tuesday. Hiro Komae (AP)
Aerial view of several buildings damaged by the earthquake in Wajima this Tuesday. FRED MERY (AFP)
Kanae Yamazaki looks at the house where she grew up in the earthquake-hit town of Togi on the Noto Peninsula. FRANCK ROBICHON (EFE)
Aerial view of Suzu city in Ishikawa Prefecture, this Tuesday after the earthquake. STR (AFP)
Several people reflect on the damage caused in a residential area burned down after the earthquake in Wajima this Tuesday.KYODO (via Portal)
Aerial view of a collapsed building in Wajima city after the earthquake, this Tuesday. JIJI PRESS (EFE)
Damage caused after the earthquake in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, this Tuesday. FRANCK ROBICHON (EFE)
Aerial view of the damage caused by the earthquake this Tuesday on the coast of Noto. STR (AFP)
A group of soldiers rescues a person from the rubble of a house in Wajima this Tuesday. Joint Defense Staff Office (via Portal)
A residential area burned down following the earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, this Tuesday. KYODO (via Portal)
A building collapsed due to the earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture this Tuesday. KYODO (via Portal)
Rescue workers are searching for survivors in the rubble of several collapsed houses this Tuesday after the earthquake in Wajima. KYODO (via Portal)
A road was damaged after the earthquake in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture (Japan), this Monday. YUSUKE FUKUHARA (AFP)
Several supermarket customers squatted this Monday after feeling tremors during the earthquake in a supermarket in the city of Toyama, in the prefecture of the same name.坂本泰幸 (AP)
Buildings damaged after the earthquake in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture.YUSUKE FUKUHARA (AFP)
A group of people still stand between the cracks caused by the earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. KYODO (via Portal)
Residents rest this Monday in the Kanazawa region at a primary school that served as shelter after the earthquake.KYODO (Portal)
Buildings burn in Wajima town after the earthquake, this Monday.STR (AFP)
Ishikawa authorities have confirmed the deaths of 55 people, at least 15 of them in the town of Wajima, near the epicenter of the earthquake. “I have never experienced such a strong earthquake,” said Shoichi Kobayashi, 71, from Wajima, who was celebrating the New Year at home with his wife and son when the quake struck, sending furniture flying through the dining room, Portal reported .
In Suzu, a town of just over 5,000 people near the earthquake's epicenter, 90% of homes may have been destroyed, mayor Masuhiro Izumiya said. “The situation is catastrophic,” he said.
The quake struck Monday afternoon, prompting residents of some coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves washed some homes and cars into the sea. The earthquake also caused injuries and structural damage in Niigata, Toyama, Fukui and Gifu prefectures.
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Evacuation of 100,000 people
On Monday evening, the government ordered the evacuation of 100,000 people who sought shelter in sports halls and school gymnasiums, facilities normally used as evacuation centers in emergency situations. Many returned to their homes this Tuesday as authorities lifted tsunami warnings. However, around 33,000 households were still without power as of early morning, Hokuriku Electric Power reported on its website, while most areas in the north of the Noto Peninsula also have no water supply, according to the chain. NHK.
Evacuees rest this Tuesday in a center for displaced people in Wajima. KIM KYUNG-HOON (Portal)
The Minister of Defense announced this Tuesday that a thousand members of the army would take part in the rescue operations and 10,000 could be deployed. They join the thousands of firefighters and police officers from across the country who have been sent to the hardest-hit area of the Noto Peninsula.
Many rail, sea and air connections to the region have been suspended. According to public broadcaster NHK, Noto airport was closed due to damage to the runway, terminal and access roads, leaving 500 people trapped in cars in the parking lot. For its part, West Japan Railway reported that around 1,400 bullet train passengers were trapped in carriages for 11 hours while the condition of the tracks between Toyama and Kanazawa stations was checked.
The Japan Meteorological Agency estimated that the earthquake struck about 30 kilometers east and northeast of Wajima with a preliminary depth of 16 kilometers, and registered a maximum of 7, the highest level, on the country's seismic intensity scale. An earthquake of this magnitude is believed to make it impossible for people to stay upright. A similar quake was last recorded in Hokkaido in 2018.
The military is searching for survivors in the rubble of Wajima this Tuesday. Joint Defense Staff Office (via Portal)
Authorities initially issued a “major tsunami warning,” the highest since 2011, when a magnitude 9.1 earthquake – the strongest since records began in Japan 150 years ago – triggered a gigantic tsunami the north devastated the Japanese archipelago and triggered the nuclear accident in Fukushima. Entire cities were destroyed in this triple disaster, which killed almost 20,000 people.
A delicate moment for the Japanese nuclear industry
Monday's earthquake, which also prompted South Korean, North Korean and Russian authorities to issue a tsunami warning, comes at a sensitive time for Japan's nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some local activists since the Fukushima disaster. But despite initial fears that the quake would cause damage to active power plants, Japan's nuclear regulator assured Monday that no irregularities had been found at power plants along the Sea of Japan.
Last week, Japan lifted an operating ban on the world's largest nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been out of service since the 2011 tsunami. The power plant is located in Niigata Prefecture, which was also affected by Monday's earthquake. Hokuriku Electric's Shika plant, which is closest to the earthquake's epicenter, has also been inactive since 2011. The company reported that there were some power outages and fuel leaks after Monday's earthquake, but said there were no radiation leaks. The company had previously stated its intention to commission the reactor in 2026.
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