Japan Earthquake: 200 people have died, and over 100 are still missing

Just over 100 people remain missing following the massive earthquake that struck central Japan on January 1; as of Tuesday, the dead toll from that disaster has surpassed 200, according to officials.

Just as families were enjoying New Year’s Day, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s main island, Honshu, causing fires, building destruction, and infrastructure failure.

After eight days, hundreds of rescuers had to contend with bad weather and closed roads in order to reach the approximately 3,500 individuals who remained stranded in remote areas and remove the debris.

Ishikawa regional officials issued data on Tuesday indicating that 102 persons were missing, down from 120, and 202 confirmed deaths, up from 180 earlier in the day.

After updating central databases on Monday, the number of missing persons was more than quadrupled to 323 by the authorities; the majority of the increase was attributed to the severely damaged Wajima.

However, Ishikawa official Hayato Yachi told AFP that “many families let us know that they were able to confirm the safety of the persons (on the list)” since then.

As of Monday, over 30,000 people were residing in 400 government shelters, some of which were overcrowded and had difficulty providing enough heat, food, and water due to the severe snowfall in certain areas that complicated relief operations.

15,600 families lacked power, and over 60,000 did not have access to running water.

Days of rain have exacerbated road conditions and caused an estimated 1,000 landslides.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave ministers instructions to “make efforts of resolving the state of isolation (of communities) and continue tenacious rescue activities” on Tuesday during a daily cabinet meeting on disaster relief.

Additionally, Kishida called for additional evacuations to areas beyond the earthquake-affected area, senior government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said reporters.

A 90-year-old lady in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, lived for five days beneath the rubble of a fallen home until being rescued on Saturday.

“Remain calm!” Local media released police film from the wet scene, which showed rescuers shouting to the lady.

Not everyone was as fortunate as Naoyuki Teramoto, 52, who was devastated on Monday after the discovery of the remains of three of his four children in the town of Anamizu.

After his daughter passed her high school entrance test, “we were talking of plans to go to Izu,” a well-known hot spring resort, he said to broadcaster NTV.

Japan has hundreds of earthquakes a year, most of which are benign due to stringent construction regulations that have been in place for more than 40 years.

However, many buildings are older, particularly in rural places like Noto where aging populations are growing quickly.

The devastating 2011 earthquake that rocked the nation, killed about 18,500 people, caused a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima facility, and sent forth a tsunami still unsettles the nation.