Japan quake toll nears 50 as rescuers battle to find survivors
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[January 02, 2024]
By Kiyoshi Takenaka, Sakura Murakami and Kantaro Komiya
WAJIMA, Japan (Reuters) -At least 48 people were killed after a powerful
earthquake hit Japan on New Year's Day, with rescue teams struggling on
Tuesday to reach isolated areas where buildings had been toppled, roads
wrecked and power cut to tens of thousands of homes.
The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck on Monday
afternoon, prompting people in coastal areas to flee to higher ground as
tsunami waves hit Japan's western seaboard, sweeping cars and houses
into the water.
A 3,000-strong rescue crew of army personnel, firefighters and police
officers have been sent to the quake site on the Noto peninsula in
Ishikawa prefecture.
"The search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle
against time," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during an emergency
meeting on Tuesday, donning a blue outfit commonly worn by officials
during disaster relief operations.
Kishida said rescuers were finding it very difficult to access the
northern tip of the Noto peninsula where helicopter surveys had
discovered many fires and widespread damage to buildings and
infrastructure. There are around 120 cases of people awaiting rescue,
his government spokesperson said.
Many rail services and flights into the area have been suspended. More
than 500 people were stranded at Noto's airport which has closed due to
cracks in its runway and access road and damage to its terminal
building.
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In Suzu, a coastal town of just over 5,000 households near the quake's
epicenter, up to 1,000 houses may have been destroyed, according to its
mayor Masuhiro Izumiya.
"The situation is catastrophic," he said.
Authorities have confirmed 48 fatalities, all in Ishikawa prefecture,
making it Japan's deadliest earthquake since at least 2016 when a 7.3
magnitude one struck in Kumamoto on the southern island of Japan,
killing more than 220 people.
Many of those killed are in Wajima, a city on the remote northern tip of
the Noto peninsula.
Scores more have been injured and authorities were battling blazes in
several cities on Tuesday and hauling people from collapsed buildings.
"I've never experienced a quake that powerful," said Wajima resident
Shoichi Kobayashi, 71, who was at home having a celebratory New Year's
meal with his wife and son when the quake struck, sending furniture
flying across the dining room.
"Even the aftershocks made it difficult to stand up straight," he said,
adding his family were sleeping in their car because they could not
return to their badly damaged home.
Around 200 tremors have been detected since the quake first hit on
Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which warned more
strong shocks could hit in the coming days.
WRECKED HOMES
Fujiko Ueno, a 73-year-old resident of Nanao city in Ishikawa, said
nearly 20 people were in her house for a New Year celebration when the
quake struck, splintering the walls which came crashing down on a parked
car.
Miraculously, everyone emerged uninjured.
"It all happened in the blink of an eye" she said, standing next to the
crushed car on a road littered with debris and mud that oozed out from
cracks in its surface.
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![](../images/010224PIX/news_l10.jpg)
Fire burns following an earthquake at a residential area in Wajima,
Ishikawa prefecture, Japan January 1, 2024, in this photo released
by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERS
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Several world leaders sent condolence messages with President Joe
Biden saying in a statement the United States was ready to provide
any necessary help to Japan.
The Japanese government ordered around 100,000 people to evacuate
their homes on Monday night, sending them to sports halls and school
gymnasiums, commonly used as evacuation centers in emergencies.
Almost half of those evacuated had returned to their homes on
Tuesday after authorities lifted tsunami warnings.
But around 33,000 households remained without power in Ishikawa
prefecture after a night when temperatures dropped below freezing,
according to Hokuriku Electric Power's website. Nearly 20,000 homes
have no water supply.
The Imperial Household Agency said it would cancel Emperor Naruhito
and Empress Masako's slated New Year appearance on Tuesday following
the disaster. Kishida postponed his New Year visit to the Ise Shrine
scheduled for Thursday.
Japan's defense minister told reporters on Tuesday that 1,000 army
personnel are involved in rescue efforts and that 10,000 could
eventually be deployed.
NUCLEAR PLANTS
The quake also comes at a sensitive time for Japan's nuclear
industry, which has faced fierce opposition from locals since the
2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered nuclear meltdowns in
Fukushima. Whole towns were devastated in that disaster and nearly
20,000 people perished.
Japan last week lifted an operational ban imposed on the world's
biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been offline
since the 2011 tsunami.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities were found
at nuclear plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active
reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui
Prefecture.
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Hokuriku Electric's Shika plant, the closest to the epicenter, has
also been idle since 2011. The company said there had been power
outages and oil leaks following Monday's jolt but no radiation
leakage.
The company had previously said it hoped to restart the reactor in
2026.
Toshiba said its local subsidiary Kaga Toshiba Electronics has
stopped semiconductor production at its plant in Ishikawa to gauge
the quake's impact on its facilities.
Chip equipment maker Kokusai Electric said it had found damage at
its factory in Toyama and was investigating further ahead of the
planned resumption of operations on Thursday.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Sakura Murakami, Kantaro Komiya and
Satoshi Sugiyama; Writing by Hugh Lawson and John Geddie; Editing by
Diane Craft, Lincoln Feast, Michael Perry, Raju Gopalakrishnan and
Ed Osmond)
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