Jan 8, 2024 at 10:21 am
The number of people missing after the Japanese earthquake on New Year’s Day has now tripled. At least 323 people are missing. The death toll rose to 168 on Monday.
There may still be people under the rubble of collapsed or damaged buildings. The chance that they will be found alive is becoming increasingly smaller. Another woman in her nineties was rescued on Saturday after being trapped under the rubble of her collapsed home for five days.
The west coast of Japan was hit by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake on New Year’s Day. The work of the thousands of rescue workers is complicated by damaged roads, debris, landslides, aftershocks and the weather.
Days of rainfall increases the chance of new landslides. Snow can also cause more buildings to collapse. In some places there is more than 10 centimeters of snow.
Thousands of households are without power
In the hard-hit Ishikawa region, approximately eighteen thousand households were without power on Monday. More than 66,100 households had no running water on Sunday.
Japanese media report that nearly 29,000 people are staying in government shelters. In some centers there would be a shortage of water, electricity and heating.
Hundreds of earthquakes occur in Japan every year. Due to the strict building regulations, which have been in place for more than four decades, most earthquakes do not cause damage.
But many buildings in the country are older. This is particularly the case in remote regions with rapidly aging populations, such as the affected area.
Image: EPA
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2024-01-08 09:21:56
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