Japan earthquake death toll rises to 62, officials warn of more quakes to come
On Monday afternoon, the earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in the central prefecture of Ishikawa, causing buildings to collapse and sending tsunami warnings as far as eastern Russia.
TOKYO: Japanese rescue teams continued searching for survivors on Wednesday as authorities warned of landslides and heavy rain after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 62 people.
On January 1, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake shook Ishikawa Prefecture on the main island of Honshu, causing tsunami waves more than a meter high, sparking massive fires and destroying roads.
The prefecture’s Noto Peninsula was hardest hit, where fires destroyed several hundred buildings and leveled homes in several cities, including Wajima and Suzu, before-and-after satellite images released Wednesday showed.
The regional government announced on Wednesday that 62 people were confirmed dead and more than 300 were injured, 20 of them seriously.
The count was expected to rise as rescue workers battled aftershocks and bad weather to tackle the debris.
The New Year’s Day toll reached 62, AFP reports, with a local government official saying more than 300 injuries were also reported, 20 of them serious.
