Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 73 in Central Japan

Wajima, Ishikawa Pref., Jan. 3 (Jiji Press)--At least 73 people have been confirmed dead in Ishikawa Prefecture due to the powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake that struck the prefecture and surrounding areas in central Japan on New Year's Day as rescuers continued searching for missing people on Wednesday. 
 

The death toll includes 39 in Wajima and 23 in Suzu, both Ishikawa cities in the Noto Peninsula. Evacuation shelters were opened at 355 locations in the prefecture, and about 33,000 people were evacuated.
 

The Defense Ministry doubled the number of Self-Defense Forces personnel deployed for search and rescue operations to 2,000.
 

About 200 buildings in some 4,000 square meters were burned in Wajima. Many collapsed houses have been reported in Wajima and Suzu.
 

Some 33,300 households were out of power as of 3:35 p.m. Wednesday, according to Hokuriku Electric Power Co., which serves the areas. The SDF and others have provided water supply support.
 

The earthquake occurred at around 4:10 p.m. Monday with a maximum seismic intensity of 7, the highest on the Japanese scale, observed in Shika, an Ishikawa town in the peninsula. Aftershocks have since continued.
 

The Japan Meteorological Agency temporarily issued a major tsunami warning for the Noto region, and a tsunami of more than 1.2 meters was observed in Wajima. Many houses are believed to have been washed away by the tsunami.
 

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