Japanese rescuers searched for survivors of a New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 48 people and left massive damage on Tuesday, fighting against the clock and strong aftershocks.
The main island of Honshu’s Ishikawa prefecture was rocked by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that created tsunami waves more than a meter high, destroyed houses, started a large fire, and tore apart highways.
A number of structures were destroyed in the Noto Peninsula, including crushed residences, sunk or washed ashore fishing boats, and landslide-damaged highways.
“I’m amazed the house is this broken and everyone in my family managed to come out of it unscathed,” said Akiko, standing outside her parent’s tilting home in the badly hit city of Wajima.
The way 2024 started “will be etched into my memory forever,” she told AFP after what she called the “long and violent” earthquake on Monday.
“It was such a powerful jolt,” Tsugumasa Mihara, 73, told AFP as he queued with hundreds of others for water in the nearby shellshocked town of Shika.
Local authorities put the death toll at 48, but the number was expected to rise as rescuers comb through the rubble.
“Very extensive damage has been confirmed, including numerous casualties, building collapses and fires,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after a disaster response meeting.
“We have to race against time to search for and rescue victims of the disaster.”
Aerial news footage showed the terrifying scale of a fire that ripped through the old market area of Wajima, where a seven-storey commercial building also collapsed. Quake damage impaired rescue efforts to put out the blaze.
Almost 33,000 households were without power in the region, which saw temperatures touch freezing overnight, the local energy provider said. Many cities were without running water.
The earthquake’s magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey, was 7.5. With a measurement of 7.6, the meteorological agency in Japan reported that it was one of around 150 earthquakes that will jolt the area until Tuesday morning.
Early on Tuesday, there were multiple powerful shocks, one of which measured 5.6 and forced national broadcaster NHK to switch to a special program.
The presenter asked the audience to “please take deep breaths” and reminded them to check their kitchens for flames.
