Todesopferzahl nach Erdbeben in Japan steigt auf 94, 222 werden vermisst

Hampered by bad weather and damaged roads, Japanese rescuers are currently searching for 222 people who are still missing four days after a devastating earthquake. The death toll is approaching 100. Two elderly women were miraculously pulled from the rubble on Thursday, but hopes of finding more survivors are fading due to the forecast of rain, snow, and falling temperatures in the coming days. Thousands of rescuers from all over Japan are facing aftershocks and difficult road conditions in the central Ishikawa region as they try to reach stranded communities.

The port city of Wajima on the Noto Peninsula was one of the hardest hit areas. The pungent smell of soot still lingers in the air, and faint columns of smoke can be seen from a massive fire that destroyed hundreds of structures on the first day. Hiroyuki Hamatani, 53, who was relaxing with his relatives when the quake struck, said, „The house itself is still standing, but it’s not livable anymore… I can’t even think about the future right now.“

As of Friday afternoon, authorities reported that 222 people were still unaccounted for, down from the previous count of 242. The death toll has risen to 94, with 464 people injured. Around 30,000 households in the Ishikawa region are without electricity, and 89,800 homes in that region and two neighboring regions have no water. Many people have sought refuge in government shelters. Regional governor Hiroshi Hase said, „We are doing our best to conduct rescue operations in the isolated villages… However, the reality is that the isolation has not been resolved to the extent that we would like.“

In the town of Anamizu, a Vietnamese man named Sang and his four compatriots are living in a damaged house without heating or water. The toilet is full of bricks. Sang said, „We were cooking when it happened. We all rushed out of the house. We didn’t have internet connection on the day of the earthquake, but it was restored yesterday. We were able to contact our families in Vietnam. Right now, what we need is something to eat and drink.“

The Suzu area has also been devastated, with fishing boats sunk or washed ashore by tsunami waves. Noriaki Yachi, 79, fought back tears after his wife was pulled from the rubble and confirmed dead. Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes each year, but most cause no damage due to strict building codes. However, the Noto region has experienced increasingly strong and frequent earthquakes over the past five years. The country is still haunted by the massive 9.0 magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami and caused one of the worst nuclear disasters in history at the Fukushima atomic plant

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Japan quake death toll rises to 94 with 222 missing

Hampered by bad weather and damaged roads, Japanese rescuers searched Friday for 222 people still missing four days after a devastating earthquake as the death toll approached 100. Two elderly women were pulled from the rubble on Thursday, but hopes of finding other survivors after the 7.5 magnitude quake on New Year’s Day were fading with rain, snow and falling temperatures forecast in the coming days. Thousands of rescuers from all over Japan have been battling aftershocks and roads littered with gaping holes and blocked by frequent landslides in the central Ishikawa region to reach hundreds of people in stranded communities. On Thursday afternoon, 72 hours after the quake, the two older women were miraculously pulled alive from the remains

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