Death toll rises to 64 after earthquake in Japan

APreviously, an official from the Ishikawa municipality, who did not want to be identified, spoke to the France-Presse news agency (AFP) of “62 deaths” and said that more than 300 people were injured, 20 of which were seriously injured.

Along the roads, which are badly damaged or blocked by falling trees, large signs warn of possible landslides.

Authorities are urging caution due to the heavy rains that are falling today and their consequences across the entire Noto peninsula, in Ishikawa Prefecture, a long and narrow strip of land that extends to the Sea of ​​Japan.

“Be alert for landslides until tonight,” warned the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

Some areas were unstable due to the earthquake that occurred on Monday at 4:10 pm local time (7:10 am in Lisbon), which reached a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale according to the United States Institute of Geophysics ( USGS) and 7.6 according to JMA.

The central-western region of the country, namely Ishikawa Prefecture, has been hit by several hundred aftershocks – some also strong – since this earthquake and the tsunami that followed on Monday, which caused waves of more than one meter that swept many boats, stranded on the piers, or the seaside roads.

Thousands of buildings on the Noto peninsula were fully or partially destroyed by the disaster and could still be destroyed by aftershocks, making rescue operations delicate. At each alert, rescue teams must urgently remove themselves from the rubble.

The number of victims could still increase, as the searches are expected to last a few more days in rural areas and villages that are difficult to access.

More than 31,800 people have taken refuge in accommodation centers set up in different villages, according to Japanese authorities, and almost 34,000 homes are still without electricity in Ishikawa Prefecture.

More than 115,000 homes in Ishikawa and two other prefectures are also deprived of water, the Japanese government reported today.

Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is one of the countries with the most frequent earthquakes in the world.

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