51 Still Missing in Powerful Japan Earthquake

Japan – Authorities in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit by a powerful earthquake on New Year's Day, are still trying to establish the fate of 51 missing people. 

In Wajima City alone, which recorded the highest death toll from the disaster, six people are still considered missing.

"Rescue services have received 40 to 50 reports about the collapse of buildings, under the rubble many people are trapped," said the local government. 

In a press conference on Thursday morning, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida one more time urged all parties involved in the search operation to make maximum efforts to find the missing people.

On Monday afternoon, an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, followed by a series of aftershocks, occurred near the city of Suzu on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. 

The death toll from the disaster has now reached 78 people, while more than 100 other people were injured.

The shaking also caused buildings to collapse and left more than 32,000 homes without power, although no damage to nuclear power plants was recorded.

In addition, the January 1, 2024 earthquake was the strongest earthquake in the Noto Peninsula area since records began in 1885.