Japan Earthquake: Death Toll Rises To 92, Over 240 Missing

INA- Sources 

Tokyo: The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Japan has increased to 92 as of Friday, local authorities said, adding that the number of missing people jumped to 242. Thousands of rescuers from across Japan have been battling aftershocks and roads blocked by several landslides in the Ishikawa region to be able to reach over a hundred people in stranded communities.
 
Following the 7.6 magnitude earthquake on New Year's Day, two women on Thursday were rescued alive from the remains of their homes in Wajima. The city of Wajima on the Noto Peninsula was one of the worst-hit regions due to the earthquake that destroyed hundreds of buildings on the first day.
 
The local authorities said that the powerful earthquake, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, injured at least 330 people. More than 30,000 households were left without electricity in the Ishikawa region and over 89,000 homes there and two other neighbouring areas had no water.
 
Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year and most of them cause no damage, with stringent building codes in place for more than four decades. Earthquakes have struck the Noto region with intensifying strength and frequency over the last five years. Japan is haunted by a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea earthquake in 2011, which caused a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.

Source: AFP