A new earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit western Japan this Wednesday (3), two days after a strong earthquake measuring 7.6 caused more than 60 deaths in the country.
The new earthquake occurred at 10:54 am (local time; 10:54 pm on Tuesday in Brasília) at a depth of 10 km, with its epicenter on the Noto peninsula, in Ishikawa Prefecture, just like Monday's earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which did not issue a tsunami warning.
The tremor was felt strongly in the city of Wajima, one of the hardest hit by the earthquake two days ago, as well as in Nanao, Nakanoto, Aanamizu and Noto, all of which had already recorded deaths in the catastrophe that occurred on Monday.
The JMA considers that a level 5 earthquake makes it difficult to walk without holding on to something stable.
Japan “fights against time” to complete rescue efforts
“Rescue activities are being carried out in a fight against time, where the priority is to save lives,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said today at the start of a meeting to manage Wednesday’s tasks.
The head of the Japanese government also highlighted the importance of providing water, food and other basic supplies to evacuees, so that their lives are not in danger, in a catastrophe that left around 33,000 people displaced from 19 cities and towns in Ishikawa Prefecture. , the most affected by the tremor.
Precisely in these evacuation shelters, recent reports indicate that there is a lack of water, food and fuel. “Tomorrow we will run out of food,” said a municipal official in the city of Suzu in statements to state broadcaster NHK.
“We expect efforts from the agents sent to the region to carry out infrastructure reconstruction tasks, especially water and electricity”, highlighted Kishida, stressing that the necessary measures will be taken as soon as the other needs are known.
In cities such as Wajima, Noto and Suzu, all close to the quake's epicenter, municipalities are still trying to quantify the collapsed buildings and structures.
In Suzu, “around 90% of the houses were totally or partially destroyed”, said its mayor, Masuhiro Izumiya, in statements to the news agency Kyodo.
Until this Tuesday, around 1,000 military personnel had been mobilized in the province, in addition to 22 planes and 8 ships for rescue activities and collecting information about damage, but Kishida said today that he will double the number of troops in the coming hours, in addition to sending firefighters and police officers across Japan.
The goal is to find as many survivors as possible before the 72-hour limit is reached, after which it is almost impossible to find people alive under the rubble.
The earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula on Monday (1st) — an area known for having active geological faults — had its epicenter 30 kilometers northeast of Wajima and reached level 7 on the Japanese closed scale of 7, which is focuses on the destructive power of the tremor.
This earthquake, the most devastating in Japan since the 2016 earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture (which left more than 200 people dead), is the first level 7 earthquake to be recorded in the country since 2018, when a tremor reached level 7 on the island of Hokkaido.
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