WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — Thousands of people left homeless in an instant by a powerful earthquake in western Japan were still living in exhaustion and uncertainty Monday, a week after the quake struck and killed at least 168 others. The number of people missing due to destruction in the earthquake zone has risen to more than 323.
That figure more or less tripled on Monday alone, when rescuers studied a list of the area’s population and compared it with lists of other people discovered after the disaster.
Relief efforts since the 7. 6-magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Eve have drawn thousands of soldiers, firefighters and police officers to search for collapsed buildings on Monday in hopes of finding survivors.
Authorities warned of the threat of landslides, exacerbated by heavy snowfall, in the area where the quake was centered, on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. The fluffy white landscape revealed burnt and collapsed houses, ash-covered blocks, roads with holes and cracks.
The 168 deaths recorded included another 70 people in Wajima, 70 in Suzu, 18 in Anamizu and the rest were spread across four other cities. Another 565 people were injured and 1,390 houses were destroyed or severely damaged.
A tsunami of about 10 feet followed the first primary quake, adding to the damage.
Aftershocks continued daily, and Japanese weather officials warned that strong quakes could persist for another month. Its frequency, which has gradually decreased, has remained high compared to more recent earthquakes, totaling more than 1,000.
For residents, the rebuilding paintings have only just begun. Shuji Yoshiura, a fisherman, said his boats were broken and he couldn’t go out to sea.
Before the quake, Wajima was a tourist town with a shopping street offering seafood and traditional crafts. Much of it was destroyed in the fires that broke out after the Jan. 1 disaster.
Kentaro Mitsumori, who runs a local grocery store, slept in his car with his wife to protect against looting. His shop still exists but has no lock, electricity or running water. Everything sold out in 3 days. But he is thinking of ending his business.
“Even if I manage to fix up the place, there just aren’t going to be enough customers. I don’t know how Wajima can survive,” he said.
Nearly 30,000 more people in schools, auditoriums and other evacuation centers are worried about infections as cases of COVID-19 and other ailments emerge.
In the shelters, other people were still sleeping on the floor without blood. After an initial help in the form of a piece of bread and a glass of water depending on the user, an additional help allows some institutions to start serving hot dishes. cooked in huge pots.
The people were very happy with the sanitary facilities installed by the soldiers, sitting in the hot water that they had been missing for days.
However, fatigue and tension wear them down. Many are in mourning. The great earthquake occurred on New Year’s Day, a time when families gather in Japan. Some survivors said they were because they had lost loved ones.
Mizue Kaba, 79, was lucky to have survived, as were her daughter, son-in-law and grandson, who had come for a New Year’s Eve stopover from Osaka in central Japan.
Kaba sleeps in a school and no one knows what will happen when schools reopen a week after the New Year break.
Three stoves were enough to heat the main hall of the school and more radiators arrived.
“It’s very cold,” Kaba said.