Dozens of people have been confirmed dead in Japan as rescuers continue to search for survivors after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan on New Year’s Day.
Authorities in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture, the nearest region to the quake’s epicenter, confirmed that at least 48 people had died in the disaster, Tokyo-based news outlet NHK reported. Fire department officials in Wajima City said that at least 25 buildings had collapsed, and firefighters were attempting to rescue people still trapped inside 14 of the buildings. Additionally, officials believe around 200 buildings burned down on a popular tourist street in Wajima City after fires broke out as a result of the earthquake.
Footage captured by a helicopter flying over the devastation showed numerous buildings leveled and some on fire. Many of the roads leading into the city were reportedly left impassable after the quake, making it difficult for officials and relief workers to get to the affected areas.
NHK staff flew over central Wajima City in a helicopter at around 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Flames were coming out from several places.
For more news from Japan visit our live page: https://t.co/gWrQ60IXoF pic.twitter.com/DgzCH0YzMl— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) January 2, 2024
More than a dozen earthquakes were reported in the Sea of Japan late Monday night local time, the largest of which collapsed buildings and started a fire in Wajima, the city closest to the earthquake’s epicenter. Following the earthquakes, Japanese authorities issued a “major tsunami warning” — the highest-level warning before downgrading the alert to a “tsunami warning” and later a “tsunami advisory.” Japanese authorities have now lifted all tsunami advisories.
Rescuers are now rushing to save any survivors as the Japan Meteorological Agency warned that more earthquakes — potentially reaching around magnitude 7 — could hit the Japanese coast in the coming days.
Nearly 60,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, according to Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi. Around 30,000 households lost power following the earthquake and 20,000 homes don’t have running water, Hayashi added, according to The New York Times.
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After the earthquakes, a fire reportedly broke out at a nuclear power plant in Ishikawa, but plant operators quickly extinguished it and said there was no impact on the plant, according to Hayashi. No nuclear facilities have reported any increases in radiation levels since the quake.