2024-01-02 14:20:23
The number of deaths as a result of 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the west coast of Japan on Monday (1st) rose to 50, while rescue efforts and the search for people trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings continue, according to official Japanese sources.
The city of Wajima, around 500 km from Tokyo and located very close to the epicenter of the earthquake, was one of the hardest hit by the earthquake, which caused the collapse of around 25 buildings, many of them private homes, in this town of around 27 thousand inhabitants.
Authorities believe that people may still be trapped under the remains of 14 of these buildings, according to data from the local Fire Department, which continues to carry out rescue operations.
In several of the affected cities, dozens of people were taken to hospitals and rescue efforts continue, which is why the death toll is expected to rise in the coming hours.
Images captured by NHK on Tuesday morning showed a seven-story building collapsed and a column of smoke rising in a central area of Wajima known for its morning market.
The province also suffered a fire that affected more than 200 structures and is persisting in some areas, although the chances of it spreading further are slim, officials said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a press conference this morning in which he said that he himself will be responsible for managing the disaster.
“I will be the general director, I will mobilize the Self-Defense Forces, the Japanese Coast Guard, the firefighters and the police”, explained the prime minister, who commented that it is extremely difficult for vehicles to access the northern areas of the Noto peninsula and that the government has already sent supplies by ship.
The leader of the Japanese Executive also asked residents of the affected areas “to act safely”, since “the risk of house collapses and landslides is increasing in areas where the tremors were strong”.
According to the latest figures this afternoon, around 32,000 people have been evacuated in the prefectures of Ishikawa, Toyama and other nearby areas, while local air and rail services remain suspended.
About 1,000 soldiers from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are taking part in the rescue operations.
The number of homes without electricity, mainly in Ishikawa, is currently estimated at tens of thousands.
Earthquake in Japan caused changes of up to 3 m in the Earth’s crust
Fortunately, the rises in sea levels detected in different Japanese locations, and even in neighboring South Korea, did not cause significant damage.
Monday’s earthquake is the deadliest in Japan since April 2016, when two quakes measuring 6.5 and 7.3 struck the Japanese island of Kyushu, leaving more than 200 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.
Japan is considered the most prepared country in the world to manage natural disasters due to their frequency. Constructions resistant to strong earthquakes and a safe population are the main keys to its protection.
A 1981 law marked a before and after in the country’s anti-seismic construction standards, which have been reinforced in recent decades and which are, according to experts, the highest in the world.
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