Death toll hits 126 in Japan quake

Death toll hits 126 in Japan quake
By Harumi OZAWA with Kyoko HASEGAWA in Tokyo
Shiromaru , Japan (AFP) Jan 6, 2024

Rescuers and residents sifted through rubble Saturday as their focus turned to recovering bodies and cleaning up rather than finding survivors, five days after a huge earthquake struck central Japan and killed at least 126 people.

The death toll from the New Year's Day 7.5 magnitude quake in the Ishikawa region of Japan's main Honshu island was certain to rise, with 210 people still unaccounted for, authorities said.

The work of thousands of rescue workers has been hampered by bad weather -- with snow forecast for Sunday -- and roads torn apart by gaping cracks and blocked by an estimated 1,000 landslides.

Two elderly women were pulled from the wreckage of their homes on Thursday in the badly hit city of Wajima on the Noto peninsula, but since there has been no reason for cheer.

In Suzu, where dozens of homes lie in ruins, a dog barked while an AFP team filmed the clean-up operation on Friday, the signal of a grim discovery.

"Training for disaster rescue dogs begins with something similar to a game of hide-and-seek," canine trainer Masayo Kikuchi told AFP.

"Finally they are trained to bark when seeing a person under the rubble."

Houses containing any fatalities that are discovered are being marked and left alone until a coroner can come with relatives to identify the body.

Fishing boats were sunk or lifted like toys onto the shore by tsunami waves that also reportedly swept one person away.

The coastal community of Shiromaru, which was hit by a tsunami several metres high on January 1, was a tangled mess of wooden, metal and plastic debris.

"The tsunami came from the cove of Shiromaru through the river, and then ran up through the street," said Toshio Sakashita, one of its roughly 100 residents.

"We have received no public support here. Look, the main street is still blocked due to the rubble, which has been left untouched," the 69-year-old told AFP.

"We cannot live in our house any more," Yukio Teraoka, 82, told AFP as he and his wife shovelled heavy, sodden sand brought by the waves out of their wrecked home.

- Pray for souls -

Local authorities said Saturday that 126 people were confirmed dead.

"We sincerely pray for the repose of the souls of those who have passed away," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on social media.

In an emergency response meeting he told ministers "urgently and swiftly" to repair roads to help hundreds of people in cut-off areas.

Despite frosty ties with Japan, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a message of "deep sympathy and condolences", state news agency KCNA reported, echoing the United States, China and other countries.

Around 23,200 households were without electricity in Ishikawa and more than 66,400 were without running water.

Power and water outages have also affected hospitals and facilities for taking care of elderly and disabled people.

"We are facing extremely severe situations" due to the water outage, Ishikawa governor Hiroshi Hase said during a disaster management meeting.

Restoration of running water will take a long time "as many water pipes have cracks", he said.

More than 30,000 people were in 366 government shelters.

Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year and most cause no damage, with strict building codes in place for more than four decades. But many buildings are older.

The country is haunted by the monster quake of 2011 that triggered a tsunami, left around 18,500 people dead or missing, and caused a nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima plant.

Woman in 90s pulled from rubble five days after Japan quake
Suzu, Japan (AFP) Jan 7, 2024 - A woman in her 90s trapped for five days under rubble caused by a huge earthquake in central Japan was rescued against the odds, but snow and storms were further complicating relief efforts on Sunday.

At least 128 people died in the magnitude-7.5 tremor on New Year's Day and its aftershocks -- a toll that is sure to rise, with 195 others reported missing, according to local authorities.

The shockwaves toppled buildings, sparked a major fire and triggered tsunami waves over a metre high on the Sea of Japan side of the main island of Honshu.

The hope of finding survivors usually fades three days after a destructive quake.

But an elderly woman spent five days under the wreckage of a collapsed house in the city of Suzu on the hard-hit Noto Peninsula before being saved on Saturday.

She was taken to hospital and was able to hold a conversation, according to public broadcaster NHK.

"Hang in there!" rescuers were heard calling to the woman in police footage from the rainy scene published by local media.

"You're gonna be OK!" they shouted. "Stay positive!"

A Tokyo police spokesman confirmed to AFP that the rescue had been carried out by officers from Tokyo and Fukuoka, but could not give further details.

Not all were so lucky. In the town of Anamizu, a 52-year-old man who lost his 21-year-old son and his parents-in-law waited to hear news of his wife, his other three children and more family members.

"I want them to be alive. It's unthinkable that I could be left alone," he told NHK.

- Sleet and snow -

On Sunday, cold rain, sleet and snow made the recovery efforts of thousands of police, troops and other rescuers even more challenging.

The bad weather could also worsen conditions for more than 30,000 people in 366 government shelters as of Saturday.

Many communities on the remote peninsula have been cut off by damaged roads, with some of an estimated 1,000 landslides also blocking aid vehicles.

That means relief materials have been slow to reach areas suffering water and power outages.

Around 20,000 households in the wider Ishikawa region remained without electricity on Sunday. More than 66,400 households were without water as of Saturday.

"The first priority has been to rescue people under the rubble, and to reach isolated communities," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in an interview with NHK on Sunday.

The military has sent small groups of troops to each of the isolated communities on foot, he said.

The government has also "deployed various police and fire department helicopters" to reach them, Kishida added.

"In parallel with these efforts, we need to improve the conditions in shelters, and the health of those suffering in the disaster," because they may have to stay in place for extended periods, he warned.

In Anamizu, rescuers in heavy-duty orange or blue waterproof suits were seen carrying the body of a landslide victim covered in a blue tarp under a toppled pylon.

And among the widespread destruction in the city of Wajima, the traditional red gate of one shrine remained standing, but the view through it was a now-familiar mess of splintered wood and toppled beams.

However, in a coastal village called Akasaki, visited by AFP, no houses had collapsed -- thanks to their unusual design.

To withstand the rough environment at the tip of a headland, the houses have few glass windows, and the exterior walls are made from wooden slats layered horizontally.

"I felt so encouraged, because the village was still there standing," said Masaki Sato, who maintains one of the homes remotely.

Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year, though most cause no damage with strict building codes in place for more than four decades.

But many structures are older, especially in rapidly ageing communities in rural areas like Noto.

The country is haunted by the monster quake of 2011 that triggered a tsunami, left around 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima plant.

Japan's last earthquake disaster to cause more than 100 deaths was in 2016 in the southern city of Kumamoto, where 276 people died.