Sixth Day Since Noto Earthquake in Japan... Death Toll Rises to 98

The death toll from the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on New Year's Day has risen to a total of 98.

On the 6th, Kyodo News reported that on the sixth day since the earthquake, the number of deaths in Wajima City, located in the northern part of the Noto Peninsula and considered the hardest-hit area, increased by four.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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The number of deaths by area is 59 in Wajima City, 23 in Suzu City, 6 in Anamizu, and 5 in Nanao City. The number of residents reported as "missing" according to Ishikawa Prefecture stands at 222.

Japanese authorities are focusing all efforts on rescue operations, even though the 72-hour "golden time" for saving lives after the earthquake has passed.

Wajima City has received about 100 reports of people trapped under buildings.

As of the afternoon of the previous day, about 66,000 households in 14 basic local governments in Ishikawa Prefecture are experiencing water outages, and 27,000 households are without electricity. More than 30,000 people are living in about 370 evacuation shelters.

Since the magnitude 7.6 main earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula at 4:10 p.m. on New Year's Day, aftershocks have continued.

At around 5:26 a.m. on the same day, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake also occurred on the Noto Peninsula.

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