The death toll from a series of powerful earthquakes that rocked central Japan last week rose to 128 on Sunday, as rescue workers continued to search for survivors amid heavy snowfall.
The quakes, which struck the Noto Peninsula and its vicinity on Monday, also injured 560 people and left 195 missing in Ishikawa prefecture, according to local authorities.
In a rare case of survival, a woman in her 90s was pulled out alive from a collapsed house in Suzu City on Saturday night, 124 hours after the first quake hit. A doctor said she had recovered enough to have conversations.
The emergency rescue team said it was uncommon for people to be rescued beyond 72 hours after the quake, as the chance of survival in a disaster drops significantly after the first three days.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government would designate the quake as a specified emergency disaster, which would grant preferential treatment to those affected, such as extending the validity period of driver’s licenses and postponing bankruptcy proceedings.
Meanwhile, the weather agency warned of traffic disruptions as heavy snowfall was expected to cover the disaster-hit areas, with Ishikawa likely to receive up to 60 centimeters of snow through Monday morning.
The prefectural government said it would temporarily close major roads in case of heavy snow accumulation, which could hamper the delivery of relief goods to those in need.
The 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake is the first to kill more than 100 people in Japan since the 2016 Kumamoto quakes in the country’s southwestern region that claimed 276 lives.
(With inputs from agencies)
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