The death toll from the powerful earthquake in central Japan on January 1 has exceeded 120, while more than 200 people are still unaccounted for.
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| Scene of devastation after the earthquake in Wajima city, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. (Source: Xinhua) |
NHK reported that as of 4:00 p.m. local time on January 6, the death toll in Ishikawa Prefecture was 126, with 210 people missing. This is the first earthquake to claim more than 100 lives since the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake that killed 276 people, including those who died after the disaster.
About 23,800 households in Ishikawa are without electricity, while more than 66,400 households are without water. The power and water outages have also affected hospitals and care facilities for the elderly and disabled.
Officials in Wajima city - one of the areas worst hit by the disaster - believe there are around 100 locations where people are still trapped under collapsed buildings and waiting to be rescued.
The full extent of the damage caused by the quakes is yet to be fully assessed, while debris, severed roads and bad weather have hampered rescue efforts, which are racing against time.
Rescue efforts are being hampered by rain and hail, with rain forecast for the area through Friday, followed by snow. The Japan Self-Defense Forces have increased the number of rescuers to about 5,400 on Friday, up from 5,000 the day before.
The Noto Peninsula area continues to record many aftershocks, including a magnitude 5.3 earthquake on the morning of January 6, equivalent to level 5 on Japan's 7-level seismic intensity scale.
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