At least 48 people have died in the Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa after the strong earthquake that shook central Japan on New Year's Day, emergency teams confirmed this Tuesday, as they continue working to find survivors. The 7.6 magnitude earthquake caused extensive structural damage and fires, and forced a tsunami warning to be activated along the country's western coast, which was lifted this Tuesday morning. Japanese authorities have reported that they are finding it difficult to assess the full extent of the disaster, as more than 140 aftershocks since the first quake have torpedoed rescue operations. The national Meteorological Agency has warned that more strong shaking could occur in the coming days.
“The search and rescue of those affected by the earthquake is a battle against the clock,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared this Tuesday during an emergency meeting on disasters, quoted by the Kyodo news agency. The Japanese leader highlighted the difficulties that rescue teams are having in reaching the northern areas of the Noto peninsula (Ishikawa prefecture) due to the poor condition of the roads, which have been destroyed, for which the central government has been coordinating the delivery of relief supplies via ships. Numerous fires have caused serious damage to more than 200 buildings and infrastructure, Kishida added.
![Aerial view of a collapsed building in the city of Wajima after the earthquake, this Tuesday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/Qwoz7vCjYfBlRQszo11uQZ9Hs8k=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/ODXWWFTQCKGPPKDJHWP5GGCRXU.jpg)
![Damage caused after the earthquake in the town of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, this Tuesday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/MjM-AiY4j-h9xdBJfkmBoB9Sva0=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/FPNEGIJ5UE5K5H5SWFRWM5UD54.jpg)
![Aerial view of the damage caused by the earthquake on the coast of Noto, this Tuesday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/Zr6-cdU6p_oLQtztHMwyw6cvRxE=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/HIJSSMONURC6PIECCZQWVAMDRM.jpg)
![A group of soldiers rescue a person from the rubble of a house this Tuesday in Wajima.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/BajxSLg3WrvfHs8oXTSDh9c5e40=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/MH27YXZW2LHYLNFZVX7X2WYHAU.jpg)
![Residential area burned after the earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, this Tuesday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/g2K5OBQgx0Oy0fvQ5-drtucC6dc=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/QGGEUHRCVHGNAPDEUIQ6R3VKVU.jpg)
![Emergency personnel search for survivors among the rubble of several collapsed homes after the earthquake in Wajima, this Tuesday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/BODWQw0LPh8tcdNnntU7X_FP6Bo=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/JPU5AQBEXSTYW53P3PCG6FULXA.jpg)
![A road damaged after the earthquake in the city of Wajima, in Ishikawa prefecture (Japan), this Monday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/1yTqHaTrphVEp1FwrS32zh2fjcI=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/AZLBR5KPN5CXDEKXW24UJFSTU4.jpg)
![Several supermarket customers crouch down after feeling a shake during the earthquake in a supermarket in the city of Toyama, in the prefecture of the same name, this Monday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/UO6tq9et3IlYukaJSFrARHvaNuo=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/QA3TNS55RVBPJHL67B3P6VCL6I.jpg)
![Buildings damaged after the earthquake in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/B5IjM9zM6q_pY08Yw8opATfsU8w=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/F352AEAB3BF2HH6JZDZBCBPASA.jpg)
![A group of people remain among the cracks caused by the earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/V-H5Bwc_hSEIf7C0TEGaYcTCIlY=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/2KIGUBBKHJZ2VUWRBE74Z7SBZE.jpg)
![A car passes by a street in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, damaged after the earthquake.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/QtzgSKiq1kQ2QrHgtyZE5OC7YOc=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/A5ZWFMEAK5AXBDTOZ2BSMGFXTM.jpg)
![Damage caused after the earthquake at the Onohiyoshi Shrine in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, this Monday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/ADn7L7wdDVApnTSodVFJ49qZAK0=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/B3E74WRSMFPNQM6IZG6GADNOQY.jpg)
![Buildings burning in the city of Wajima after the earthquake, this Monday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/Abf2Ho9uEJaqGzpM_pNoZBiVwWQ=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/TQV4YARWMVHARECWPXR2K3PDTM.jpg)
Ishikawa authorities have confirmed the death of 48 people, at least 15 of them in the city of Wajima, near the epicenter of the earthquake. The tremor struck mid-afternoon Monday, causing residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves engulfed some homes and cars into the sea. The earthquake has also caused injuries and structural damage in the prefectures of Niigata, Toyama, Fukui and Gifu.
Evacuation of 100,000 people
On Monday night, the Government ordered the evacuation of 100,000 people, who took refuge in sports halls and school gyms, facilities that are usually used as evacuation centers in emergency situations. Many returned to their homes this Tuesday, when authorities lifted tsunami warnings. However, some 33,000 homes were still without electricity supply early in the morning, Hokuriku Electric Power reports on its website, while most areas in the north of the Noto Peninsula also do not have a water supply, according to the chain. NHK.
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![Evacuees rest in a center for displaced people in Wajima, this Tuesday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/GFdACO6ikP5igKxSC8DA4uUh0Uk=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/F2RHEJ5BVHB67BUNTOQAYVOOYQ.jpg)
The Minister of Defense informed the press this Tuesday that 1,000 members of the Army are participating in the rescue efforts and that 10,000 could be deployed. These join the thousands of firefighters and police officers from across the nation who have been sent to the most affected area of the Noto peninsula.
Many rail, sea and air services to the area have been suspended. Noto airport has closed due to damage to the runway, terminal and access roads and 500 people have been trapped in cars in the parking lot, according to public broadcaster NHK. For its part, the railway company West Japan Railway reported that some 1,400 bullet train passengers were trapped for 11 hours in the carriages, while the condition of the tracks between Toyama and Kanazawa stations was checked.
The Japan Meteorological Agency estimated that the earthquake occurred about 30 kilometers east and northeast of Wajima, with a provisional depth of 16 kilometers, and registered a maximum of 7 on the country's seismic intensity scale, the maximum level. An earthquake of this strength is considered to make it impossible for people to remain standing. Such a tremor was last recorded in 2018 in Hokkaido.
![Military searches for survivors in the rubble in Wajima, this Tuesday.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/DhMXZoE7Y31TVH9v0fF5C8JO4qU=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/RQWBKQ4XUQBY6RDNKLLI3F7BDQ.jpg)
Initially, authorities decreed a “major tsunami alert,” the highest, an alarm that had not been raised since 2011, when a magnitude 9.1 earthquake—the most powerful since Japan began recording data 150 years ago. — caused a gigantic tsunami that devastated the north of the Japanese archipelago and triggered the nuclear accident in Fukushima. Entire cities were destroyed in that triple disaster that cost the lives of nearly 20,000.
A delicate moment for the Japanese nuclear industry
Monday's earthquake, which also prompted South Korean, North Korean and Russian authorities to declare a tsunami warning, comes at a delicate time for Japan's nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some local activists since the Fukushima disaster. . However, despite the initial fear that the tremor would cause damage to active plants in the nation, the Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Authority assured on Monday that no irregularities have been found in the plants located along the Sea of Japan.
Last week, Japan lifted an operating ban on the world's largest nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been out of commission since the 2011 tsunami. The plant is located in Niigata prefecture, which was also affected. due to Monday's earthquake. For its part, Hokuriku Electric's Shika plant, the closest to the epicenter of the earthquake, has also been idle since 2011. The company reported that there had been some power outages and fuel leaks after Monday's tremor, but stated that no radiation leaks had occurred. The company had previously expressed its intention to commission the reactor in 2026.
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