Death toll from Japan earthquake rises to 161, 103 missing – Dainik Savera Times

Tokyo. The death toll from the earthquake that hit Japan’s Ishikawa province reached 161 on Monday while 103 people are still missing. Local officials said 565 people were injured in Ishikawa after a series of earthquakes up to 7.6 magnitude struck the province and surrounding areas. As of 9 a.m. local time on Monday, 103 residents were still unaccounted for. Rescue operations are going on in earthquake affected areas. According to emergency rescue teams, it is rare for people to be rescued more than 72 hours after an earthquake, as the chances of survival in a disaster are said to drop significantly after the first three days.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday that the government will designate the earthquake as a designated emergency disaster to give affected people preferential treatment, such as extending the validity period of driver’s licenses and postponing bankruptcy proceedings. Japan’s weather agency has warned of traffic disruptions as heavy snowfall is expected in disaster-hit areas, with up to 60 centimeters of snowfall expected in Ishikawa by Monday morning.

The provincial government is planning to temporarily close major roads in case of heavy snow accumulation, which could potentially hinder the delivery of relief goods to people affected by the disaster. The 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake is the first earthquake to kill more than 100 people in Japan since the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake that killed 276 people in the southwestern region of the country.