Japan earthquake: Wajima City unrecognisable as window for finding survivors narrows

It’s hard to imagine the community that used to stand here so unrecognizable is W jima’s Market District it’s now the very heart of the destruction in a corner of Japan where it’s everywhere 3 days on and the wreckage still smolders here fire followed the Quake survivors can do nothing but look

On at what they’ve lost the shells of their lives that once stood here your house is right here at 83 this woman doesn’t see how she’ll ever rebuild her house actually withstood the initial Quake imagine surviving that just to lose it all just a few hours later to the Flames her

Neighbors became trapped and it’s this that really haunts her I heard my neighbors crying for help and I couldn’t do anything she says others also heard and tried to help but we’re not professionals we could do anything it became too scary and we had to evacuate those people died in the

Fire there is little more the authorities can do here now but assess the damage and count the loss it is a whole community of lives and businesses that have been totally leveled here this area used to be a market surrounded by traditional houses and people who were

Here have told us that at first they thought it was a tsunami coming some of the took refuge on the higher floors buildings like this and then ultimately lost their lives in the blaze elsewhere in this city there is barely a building left structurally sound most are not standing at all and

The authorities are now in a Race Against Time 3 days on the window for finding survivors is narrowing they’re going door too asking if there’s any neighbors or friends they’ve not heard from we don’t know says this woman we’ve only just returned here there’s a major shortage of water

Food and supplies so damaged are the roads into town Aid is just trickling in and volunteers fill the Gap constant cues for hot meals for the vulnerable for the hungry I made 1,500 portions of fried noodles I started to cook at 10:00 a.m. and by 2: p.m. it was all

Gone so that must show just how desperate people are in this city yes they were so happy and we are happy to help them many here believe there are still bodies lying under their homes there’s a clean up ahead that will likely take years and pain that could linger much

Longer Helen an Smith Sky News in wajima City Japan

In the city of Wajima, homes have been reduced to rubble after a 7.6 magnitude quake hit Japan on New Year’s Day.

It is one of the worst areas affected by the earthquake.

Sky’s Helen-Ann Smith reports from the city and speaks to survivors who have lost everything.

Read more: https://news.sky.com/story/japan-earthquake-barely-a-building-untouched-as-some-who-heeded-tsunami-warnings-died-after-being-trapped-13042057

#japan #earthquake #naturaldisaster

SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: http://www.youtube.com/skynews
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skynews

For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps: Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8 Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GB

Sky News Daily podcast is available for free here: https://podfollow.com/skynewsdaily/

Sky News videos are now available in Spanish here/Los video de Sky News están disponibles en español aquí: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzG5BnqHO8oNlrPDW9CYJog

To enquire about licensing Sky News content, you can find more information here: https://news.sky.com/info/library-sales

28 comments

  4. I visited 2023 last year. This place is very calm, beautiful and peaceful. I'm very very sad. God bless with them. I pray for all them.

  6. Quake in Ishikawa Japan occurred on 1/1/2024 @ 4PM, rescue efforts didn't even begin until 1/3 and they missed the "Golden 72 Hour" window. Their Govt's excuse: "Roads were damaged so we couldn't reach the sites". Not to mention a fire that burned down 200 buildings. There are locals literally on Twitter/X asking for assistance on getting supplies/food, and power/water to most residents still aren't restored. The crews still haven't covered half of the affected areas, deathtoll continues to rise, lots of people are going online begging for help. Temperature is only in the low ten's.

    Quake data facts: Epicenter was off the coast of the Northern tip of Noto Peninsula, 86km away from nearest town, with a Depth of 10km, 33km proximity to Faultline. The Surface Shaking Scale was 7.5 Magnitude, Japanese Meteorology Bureau recorded 224 aftershocks since the main quake, they rated the Intensity at 6+.

    Quake in Gansu/Qinghai China occurred on 12/18/2023 @ 12:07AM, rescue crews were air-lifted into the affected areas by 1:30AM and all-out effort began at 2AM, temp shelters were up by 3AM, food and all supplies by 4AM. Only 8 hours later, power and water were restored. By 12/20 they put up 500 mobile homes to replace the tents and each was fitted with wood burning heaters/stoves to prevent overload & gas leak risks. Temperature was -14'c.

    Quake data facts: Epicenter was directly below the Liugou Township bordering Qinghai Province with a Depth of 10km, 3km proximity to Faultline which caused massive ruptures and thrust shaking. The surface shaking scale was 6.2 Magnitude, Chinese Meteorology Bureau recorded a total of 514 aftershocks since the main quake, and the Intensity rating was 8.

    Japanese Govt's response in this incident should be thoroughly criticized and not praised, there is absolutely no excuse to delay the rescue efforts no matter how difficult or risky it may be.

  7. Tragic, looks just like Gaza 🤔 shame that is done by a hostile force, armed by the US and backed by Western Governments whereas this is a natural disaster

  9. The footage reminds me of ruined countries which got attacked and invaded by Japanese military in WW2.
    Japan attacked 13 Asian countries and stole everything from the victim countries.
    Most of Japanese don't even feel sorry for the war crimes.

  25. The way the streets were leveled reminded me of Gaza. Sadly, their "earthquakes" and fires continue daily.

Leave a Reply