The 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the western coast of central Mexico on Monday Japan has left at least 48 dead, while rescue efforts and the search for people trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings continue.
The city of Wajima, about 500 kilometers from Tokyo and located very close to the epicenter of the earthquake, it is one of the hardest hit by the earthquake, which caused the collapse of about 25 buildings, many of them private homes, in this town of about 27 thousand inhabitants.
It is believed that there may be people trapped under the remains of 14 of these buildings, according to data from the local fire department, which is carrying out rescue operations.
Among the deceased are 19 victims in the city of Wajima, 20 in Suzu, 5 in Nanao, 2 in Anamizu, 1 in Hakui and 1 in Shigaall of them in Ishikawa prefecture, which has suffered significant structural damage and fires.
In each of these cities, dozens of people were taken to the hospital and rescue efforts are still continuing, so the death toll is expected to increase in the coming hours.
Footage taken by public broadcaster NHK on Tuesday morning showed a seven-story building collapsed and smoke rising in a central area of Wajima known for its morning market.
A fire broke out in this prefecture that has affected more than 200 structures and persists in some areas, although the chances of it spreading further are slim, according to officials.
Long lines to get water and food
Hundreds of inhabitants of the smallto the Japanese city of Shika They line up on Tuesday in front of the mayor’s office waiting receive the six liters of water assigned to each person after the powerful earthquake that shook the country the day before.
Tsugumasa Mihara, 73 years old, He says he doesn’t remember having experienced anything like that. This resident of Shika, located in Ishikawa prefecture, was taking a nap when a “strong shaking” woke him up on Monday at 4:10 p.m. (0710 GMT).
“I felt helpless (…) All I could do was pray that it would end quickly,” he told AFP.
In total, about 150 earthquakes shook Japan between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. The strongest reached a magnitude of 7.6, according to the Japanese meteorological agency JMA.
The damage to Tsugumasa Mihara’s house was slight: just a few broken dishes on the kitchen floor. And unlike many other residents, she has electricity.
But the problem, he explains, is water, since the drinking water network of Shika, as well as many other cities on the Noto Peninsula, was damaged.
Many other inhabitants of the peninsula were less fortunate. Several buildings and houses collapsed as a result of the shaking.
The latest provisional death toll published on Tuesday was 48 dead.
Testimonies of Japanese who had to evacuate
In Wajima, In a coastal town 60 km north of Shika, an entire neighborhood of wooden houses was destroyed by flames.
On this rural peninsula sandwiched between mountains and sea, access for emergency services is difficult everywhere due to roads damaged, collapsed or blocked by landslides.
An unusual calm reigns on the streets of the cities visited by AFP journalists, who also saw many vehicles stuck in cracks in the asphalt.
The inhabitants also line up in front of the supermarkets to stock up, although some businesses are closed due to lack of supplies. “Today we are closed. We are evacuating,” reads a sign at the entrance of one of these premises.
In some places, workers are already working to seal the cracks and facilitate the passage of firefighters, the army – which was called in as reinforcements – and the police.
In front of the Shika town hall, Yuko, A 58-year-old woman also waits to receive water, distributed by an official in a blue uniform and mask.
“We need water,” he tells AFP. “An event like this reminds us how essential water is,” she notes.
“I was in my house, on the first floor, watching television when the earthquake hit. I feared for my life,” says the woman.
The way 2024 began “will be etched in my memory forever,” says another 46-year-old woman, Akiko, who with her children was visiting her parents in Wajima to celebrate the end of the year.
Since the earthquake, the entire family has been sleeping outside their parents’ wooden house, which was left leaning. AND Akiko He cannot return home at the moment because the routes are blocked.
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But Akiko remains positive. “Now that we have seen the worst (…) we have to move forward.”