Japan News: death toll rises to 126 from Monday’s massive earthquake

Japan News: Japanese authorities informed that the death toll has risen to 126 from Monday’s massive earthquake in central Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture, and more than 200 people are still unaccounted for. The magnitude 7.6 quake struck on New Year’s Day.

At least 10 people including an 8-year-old boy are believed trapped in part of the town of Anamizu after landslides destroyed several houses. Several roads remain blocked, making it difficult to reach survivors. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are using helicopters to carry out rescue operations and deliver supplies to isolated areas.

Evacuation centers in the prefecture currently house about 30,000 people. Local government officials said about 66,000 households remain without water.

Severe seismic activity continues on the Noto Peninsula and surrounding areas. A powerful magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture today morning. Authorities urged residents to stay alert for more such quakes, possibly as large as the first magnitude 7.6 quake.

A study shows that the earthquake that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula on January 2, 2024 has expanded the coastline in the area by up to 175 meters.

An investigative team led by Associate Professor Gotou Hideaki from Hiroshima University’s graduate school studied the ground shift caused by the earthquake and the effect of tsunami waves in the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa, where the quake was centered. The study was conducted using mainly aerial photos taken after the magnitude 7.6 quake. It covered a stretch of about 50 kilometers of the coastline of the northeastern part of the Noto Peninsula.

Results showed that the quake raised the ground along nearly all that area, expanding the land. It shifted the coastline seaward by 175 meters in the Kawaura district of Suzu City.

Imagery taken by a French satellite on Tuesday also showed that seawater had disappeared from a port in the Ozawa district in Wajima City. Mr Gotou said, this resulted from ground uplift.

Researchers say that as a result, the ground area expanded by a total of 2.4 square kilometers. Seawater has almost vanished at some ports on the northern coast of the peninsula.