Death toll from Japan's devastating earthquake rises
Asim Aliyev
Read moreA magnitude 7.6 earthquake off the coast of Japan's Ishikawa prefecture has brought the death toll to 48 people, Azernews reports, citing Japon media.
The series of earthquakes left at least 60 people with injuries of varying degrees of severity. All the dead were registered in Ishikawa prefecture. Most of the destruction falls on this particular prefecture. According to media reports, at least 50 percent of wooden houses and residential buildings have collapsed. There is speculation that there may still be people under the rubble. In the elimination of the consequences of the earthquake and in search and rescue operations were involved military personnel.
Recall that, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, January 1 in the Sea of Japan in the area of the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture was recorded several earthquakes, the strongest of which had a magnitude of 7.6 at 16:10 local time.
The quake was felt in communities in the northern, southern and central parts of the country, including the capital Tokyo. Besides Ishikawa, authorities also issued a tsunami warning for Niigata, Toyama, Yamagata, Fukui and Hyogo prefectures.
The population was immediately evacuated from coastal areas. Train traffic on some routes was halted and hundreds of passengers were forced to stay on trains for more than 10 hours. In addition, highways were closed and flights at airports were suspended. Following the earthquake, fire broke out in about 200 buildings. Damage was also reported in Niigata, Toyama, Fukui and Gifu prefectures. The quakes caused landslides in some places, with the ground layer rising 1.3 meters and shifting in different directions.
No abnormal situations were observed at the country's nuclear power plants after the quake.
The Japan Meteorological Agency canceled a severe tsunami warning for Jan. 2. The agency also said that strong earthquakes could hit the central part of the country in the coming days. The agency advised citizens to be cautious, stay away from the coast and rivers and temporarily evacuate to safe areas.
Several countries, including the United States, Canada and Italy, have offered assistance to Japan.
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