a new report shows at least 126 dead and 516 injured, around 210 people still missing

The earthquake that shook central Japan on New Year’s Eve left at least 126 dead and 516 injured, according to a new report on Saturday January 6. Some 210 people remain missing, according to this new count. Hopes of finding survivors, almost five days after the disaster, are increasingly slim, with winter weather conditions complicating operations.

The 7.5 magnitude earthquake, which occurred on the afternoon of January 1 in the Noto Peninsula, devastated this narrow strip of land about a hundred kilometers long which juts into the Sea of ​​Japan . The earthquake caused landslides and the collapse of buildings and roads. The shock, felt as far away as Tokyo, 300 km away, also triggered a tsunami: waves more than a meter high hit the coasts in certain places, sweeping away homes and roads along the sea and throwing boats inland.

Difficult rescue operations

“We are doing our best to carry out rescue operations in isolated villages… However, the reality is that their isolation has not been resolved as much as we would like.”, Hiroshi Hase, the governor of Ishikawa, admitted on Friday. To avoid hindering relief operations and the delivery of food to refugees, local authorities have called on people outside the Noto peninsula, usually a tourist destination, to avoid going there for “non-essential and non-urgent travel”.

They also asked the volunteers for the clearing operations to wait until the end of the three-day weekend, due to a lack of organization to be able to welcome and direct them.