Japanese authorities yesterday raised to 323 the number of people missing in the earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale that hit the country’s Center-West on January 1st.
The authorities’ latest assessment counted 210 people missing, most of whom were in the cities of Wajima, one of the worst-hit places on the Noto Peninsula, in the Sea of Japan, and Suzu.
The provisional toll across the region following the disaster is 168 dead and 565 injured, according to Japanese authorities.
The earthquake, which hit the Ishikawa region in central Japan, caused considerable damage to roads, houses and other buildings.
Authorities believe hundreds of people remain trapped or isolated while waiting for rescue services to arrive.
Repeated followingshocks and adverse weather conditions have caused new landslides and floods in the affected areas.
Due to damage to infrastructure, authorities have also had difficulty transporting food and drinking water to the approximately 31,000 people who remain sheltered in approximately 357 reception centers.
Monday’s earthquake is already the deadliest in Japan since 2011, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake caused a ‘tsunami’ that left more than 20,000 dead and triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the worst since Chernobyl (Ukraine). ), in 1986.
