The death toll from a powerful earthquake and a series of aftershocks that hit Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture on New Year’s Day has reached 161, Japanese media reported.
Another 103 people are still missing, Kyodo news agency reported.
A powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, followed by a series of aftershocks, struck the Noto Peninsula, an area near the city of Suzu, in Ishikawa Prefecture, on January 1.
The earthquakes led to the collapse of buildings, and more than 23,900 households were left without electricity, although no failures were registered at the nuclear power plants.
The earthquake on January 1, 2024 is the strongest in this region since 1885.
Also, more than 1,370 houses were partially or completely destroyed in the earthquake, and more than 30,700 people were evacuated in Ishikawa Prefecture.
About 5,900 soldiers are participating in the rescue operations.