Authorities in Japan on Tuesday rushed to assess the damage the day after a powerful earthquake left at least 30 dead, led to landslides and the collapse of multiple buildings, sparked a large-scale fire in a popular tourist area, and triggered a tsunami warning for the length of the nation’s west coast.
Continuing aftershocks, rubble on roadways and damaged roads were hampering rescue operations amid a race to find survivors, the Japan Times reported.
Footage taken by the broadcaster NHK on Tuesday morning showed a seven-story building toppled over sideways and smoke rising in a central area of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, known for its morning market, where a large blaze broke out Monday.
Fires engulfed over 200 structures in the central Wajima area but have been bought under control, Ishikawa officials said.
Ishikawa Gov. Hiroshi Hase wrote on X that roads have been cut in widespread areas by landslides or cracking, while in the port of Suzu, "multiple" vessels had capsized.
The 7.6 magnitude earthquake, which at its center was rated the highest-level 7 on Japan’s shindo intensity scale, struck Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on Monday afternoon, as the nation was marking New Year’s Day — when families generally gather at home and many shops are closed.
The quake was centered around 30 kilometers east-northeast of Wajima with a provisional depth of 16 km.
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