Death toll from earthquake in Japan rises to 91
The death toll from a powerful earthquake and a series of strong aftershocks that hit Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture on New Year's Day has risen to 91, while another 179 are still missing, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Friday.
Tokyo: The death toll from a powerful earthquake and a series of strong aftershocks that hit Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture on New Year’s Day has risen to 91, while another 179 are still missing, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Friday.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has earlier said that the earthquake in Ishikawa claimed the lives of 78 people, while 29 people were seriously injured and another 231 sustained minor injuries.
There are 179 people listed as missing, but the list could also include people who moved to another place but were not listed as having moved, the report said.
Over 40 people have been reportedly buried alive under the rubble in the city of Wajima and the death toll may therefore increase.
Some 89,000 households in three earthquake-hit prefectures, namely Ishikawa, Toyama and Niigata, remain without water supply, and more than 30,000 households have been cut off from electricity supply. Authorities have established 370 evacuation points in Ishikawa and have so far evacuated 33,000 people, the report said.
The report added that 4,600 servicepeople of Japan’s self-defense forces are taking part in search and rescue operations.
Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported Thursday, citing a senior Japanese government official, that Japanese authorities were planning to work with the US military to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake in Ishikawa, which would include transportation of humanitarian supplies and people displaced by the disaster. Other countries have also offered their help to Japan, but Tokyo plans to get support only from the United States for now, the report said.
US Defense Department spokesperson Pat Ryder said Thursday that US forces in Japan stand ready to provide all necessary assistance following the deadly earthquake.
On Thursday, Kishida on X expressed gratitude to world nations, including the G7 Countries, the US, China and Taiwan, for the condolences and offers of assistance from abroad in the wake of the devastating earthquake.
On Monday afternoon, a powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake, followed by a series of aftershocks, struck near the city of Suzu on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, resulting in casualties and buildings collapsing, although no nuclear power plant failures were registered.
The earthquake on January 1, 2024, became the most powerful for the Noto Peninsula region since records began in 1885.
