A week after a devastating 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Japan, the death toll has shot up to 168 while over 300 people remain unaccounted for, according to officials on Monday.
The number of missing persons dramatically increased from 31 to 323 in one of the worst-affected areas, Wajima city. Heavy snowfall and the threat of further landslides have hampered rescue work, with thousands struggling without electricity and water.
A revised list from Ishikawa prefecture showed 281 missing people in Wajima alone, where dozens of houses collapsed and a massive fire ravaged the region. One rare piece of good news was a woman in her 90s being rescued after surviving five days trapped under a crumpled house in Suzu city.
However, for many families, grief outweighed relief. Naoyuki Teramoto broke down as three of his four children’s bodies were recovered in Anamizu town. “We were talking about going to Izu (hot spring resort),” he cried when his daughter passed her school exam recently.
Over 18,000 homes in Ishikawa remained without power while 66,100 households had no water access, as per official data. Thousands crammed in shelters faced the bitter cold without electricity, heating, or water supply, as per reports.
“Disaster-related deaths must be prevented at all costs. I want to improve the poor environment in shelters,” said the Ishikawa governor. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida affirmed that rescue efforts were still the top priority, with helicopters deployed to reach isolated towns.
The heavy snow, rainfall, and risk of further landslides have aggravated what was already a dire humanitarian situation in the affected regions. While Japan frequently witnesses minor quakes, the vulnerability of aging infrastructure causes extensive damage during bigger tremors.
The 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which killed 18,500 people and sparked the Fukushima nuclear accident, exposed these structural weaknesses. Over a decade later, rural towns like Noto bore the brunt of another devastating disaster, hampering rebuilding efforts. With hundreds still missing and relief work hindered, the road to recovery remains uncertain and long.
