2024-01-02 05:01:07
The Japanese authorities this Tuesday lifted the tsunami alert activated after the earthquake that hit the western coast of the center of the country on Monday and reported that there are now 13 fatalities caused by the earthquake.
The earthquake, which reached a magnitude of 7.6 on the open Richter scale and which had its epicenter around the Noto peninsulaforced the activation of an alert that was in effect for about 18 hours due to possible rising tide on the western coast of the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido and the north of the island of Kyushu.
At the same time, There are already 13 fatalities left by the earthquakemany of them in the city of Wajima, a town of about 23,000 inhabitants in the Ishikawa prefecture that is among the most affected because it is close to the epicenter.
Wajima has suffered significant structural damage and fires, and the deaths include seven deaths at the municipal hospital, according to the Kyodo news agency.
There was also a fire that has affected more than 200 structures and persists in some areasalthough the chances of it spreading further are slim, according to officials in Ishikawa Prefecture.
The debris on the roads, as well as the continuous aftershocks of the earthquake, are making rescue efforts difficult.
(AP)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference that it is being extremely difficult for vehicles to access the areas in the north of the Noto Peninsula and that the Government has already sent supplies by ship.
Around 1,000 Japanese Self-Defense Forces personnel participate in rescue operations and at 9:30 local time today (0.30 GMT), more than 46,000 people remain evacuated in the prefectures of Ishikawa and Toyama.
The number of homes without electricity, mainly in Ishikawa, is currently estimated at tens of thousands.
Fortunately, the rises in sea level detected in different Japanese locations, and even in neighboring South Korea, did not cause significant damage.
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