Tokyo, Jan 5 (EFE).- Japan authorities said on Friday said that the death toll from the recent 7.6 magnitude earthquake has climbed to 92, with 242 people still missing, as hopes for further survivors diminish fast.
The towns in the hardest-hit Ishikawa prefecture, particularly Wajima and Suzu, are grappling with a high number of missing persons after the earthquake damaged several residential structures.
Despite the critical 72-hour period passing, making survivor rescues increasingly challenging, ongoing efforts persist.
The powerful earthquake shook the western coast of central Japan on Monday.
Prompted by witnesses reports, the Japanese Coast Guard has intensified search efforts, using a plane and a boat to locate people possibly swept away by the tsunami triggered by the earthquake.
As experts continue to warn of potential high-intensity aftershocks throughout the current week and the next, heavy rains in the affected areas raise concerns about landslides, further complicating ongoing rescue operations.
Fifty-five people have died in Wajima and 23 in Suzu. Five succumbed in Nanao, five more in Anamizu, two in Noto and one person in Hakui and another in Shiga.
In Ishikawa prefecture, the number of injured exceeds 300.
With over 200 collapsed buildings, approximately 34,000 people are seeking refuge in evacuation centers.
The earthquake occurring on Jan. 1, during the New Year celebrations, has led to a higher number of evacuees than usual, resulting in reports of shortages of essential supplies like food, water, and warm clothing in some shelters.
As of Thursday, 2,000 members of the Self-Defense Forces (the army), along with 22 aircraft and eight ships, have been deployed for rescue efforts and damage assessment.
The Japanese government has pledged approximately 4 billion yen (about $28 million) in emergency funds to enhance aid in Ishikawa.
The earthquake, the most devastating in Japan since the 2016 tremor in Kumamoto prefecture, is the first level 7 recorded in the country since 2018.
Monday’s tremor triggered a tsunami warning of the highest category, the first since the 2011 earthquake, which caused a tsunami resulting in over 20,000 deaths and the partial meltdown of reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant – the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. EFE
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