Japan earthquake deaths top 100, with hundreds missing
Japan's death toll from the New Year's Day earthquake reached 110 on Saturday as a search for survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings entered a sixth day, with more than 200 still missing after the deadliest quake in nearly eight years, Reuters reports.
The quake of magnitude 7.6 struck the west coast, destroying infrastructure and snapping power links to 22,000 homes in the Hokuriku region.
Rain hampered efforts to sift the rubble for survivors as more than 30,000 evacuees awaited aid. The number of confirmed dead stood at 110 by 4 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Saturday, up from 94 the previous day, the Ishikawa government website showed.
"I am keenly aware of the extent of the damage caused," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said as the toll crossed 100.
The figure is the highest since a toll of 276 in quakes in 2016 in the southwestern region of Kumamoto, a tally that includes related deaths.
Kishida told government officials to speed emergency efforts to restore trunk roads ripped up by the quake so that regular activities can resume.
Weather officials warned of the chance of heavy snowfall in the region from late Sunday through early Monday, which could trigger secondary disasters, such as landslides.
Seismic rumbles continue, with an earthquake of intensity 5 on Japan's seismic scale in the town of Anamizu early on Saturday.
