Death toll climbs to 55, with many more feared trapped

Rescuers battle to find survivors amid freezing cold and difficulty in reaching isolated areas

A powerful earthquake that hit Japan on New Year’s Day killed at least 55 people, with rescue teams struggling in freezing temperatures on Jan 2 to reach isolated areas, where many people are feared trapped under toppled buildings.

In Suzu, a coastal town of just over 5,000 households near the quake’s epicentre, 90 per cent of houses may have been destroyed, according to its Mayor Masuhiro Izumiya. “The situation is catastrophic,” he said.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck in the afternoon of Jan 1, prompting people in some western coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves swept cars and houses into the water.

Around 200 tremors have been detected since the quake first hit, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which warned that more strong shocks could hit in the coming days.

A coast guard aircraft en route to deliver aid to the quake-hit region collided with a commercial plane at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Jan 2, killing five coast guard crew, while all 379 on board the Japan Airlines flight miraculously escaped a fire.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the extent of the quake damage was becoming “increasingly clear” more than 24 hours after it struck on the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.

“The government has deployed emergency rescue teams from the Self-Defence Forces, police and fire departments to the area, and is doing its utmost to save lives and rescue victims and survivors. But we have received reports that there are still many people waiting to be rescued under collapsed buildings.”