Japan has deployed thousands of rescuers to search for the survivors of the New Year Day’s earthquake that killed at least 81 people in the country, in the quest to save as many as possible survivors. The rescuers are searching for survivors in a three-day survival window that ends today.
“Many people are left behind in the collapsed buildings, waiting to be rescued. We will use our efforts to rescue as many people as possible by this evening when 72 hours will pass since the disaster,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference.
The Noto peninsula experienced 600 tremors that day, damaging several roads and structures and making rescue operations difficult. The damage to the infrastructure has cut off the evacuees from food supplies, medicines and communication amidst the harsh cold winter.
Prime Minister Kishida has pledged 4 billion yen ($28 million) to disaster relief from the national budget.
The 3,000 meals and 5,000 bottles of water that were delivered as of Wednesday are not nearly enough for the 11,000 evacuees seeking aid in Wajima city, its mayor, Shigeru Sakaguchi, said at a regional disaster response meeting, as reported by Reuters.
According to the data from Ishikawa prefecture, there were almost 100 chokepoints and blockages on prefectural roads. “Compared to other disasters the road situation in Wajima is very bad. I feel it’s taking longer than usual for assistance to arrive,” Shunsaku Kohriki, a medical worker who has assisted in other disasters, told Reuters in Wajima city, where over half of the casualties were located.
Relief Aid by Sea
There is a reported water and food supply shortage in various affected regions. Aid has been delivered by sea in a few areas with coast guards reaching ports with relief materials in Wajima and Suzu. However, larger ships are unable to dock in the bays of the Noto Peninsula due to buckled sea beds.
Business activities disrupted
According to Reuters, several business facilities, including display makers Japan Display and EIZO, as well as semiconductor firm Kokusai Electric are repairing damaged manufacturing and production facilities.
(Inputs from Reuters)