How devastating were the New Year’s Day earthquakes in Japan? | DW News

Japan has reinforced Crews working to find survivors of the devastating New Year’s Day earthquakes the confirmed death toll has risen to 84 with at least 79 more unaccounted for Rescuers are still struggling to reach some of the worst hit areas sniffing out survivors rescue dogs and military personnel are racing against the clock

To find anyone alive under Rubble these desperate attempts are made even more difficult by continuing aftershocks destroyed roads and the remote location of the worst hit areas in a final push Japan’s prime minister has doubled the number of rescue workers in the area the situation in the affected area is very

Challenging but from the perspective of saving lives we’re making all efforts to rescue and to provide lifesaving Aid to as many people as possible before the crucial 72-hour period following the disaster elapses this evening volunteers handed out free food to the people whose homes were destroyed in the Quake thousands were left without

Electricity or water there’s no running water for the toilet and we can’t wash our hands there are babies in the evacuation Center and my biggest worry is that they’ll get infected with covid or influenza and that illness will spread some have returned home in the hopes of receiving news about missing

Relatives only to find their entire neighborhood raised to the ground even when the aftershocks stop and the dust settles the reality here is that tens of thousands of people will be left homeless and and without vital Services as the region starts the long and painful rebuilding tww correspondent James CH

Chat joins us now from the city of waji Yama on Japan’s West Coast what is the situation where you are well we’re here at wajima now which is um on the the northern coast of the Noto Peninsula this is the worst affected area right now we’re outside the Municipal hospital here we arrived

Here um about an hour ago and in the hour that we’ve been here we’ve seen an elderly man um be transported into the hospital we understand he was recently recovered from remains of the hospital we actually just spoke with the manager of the hospital here as well who didn’t

Let us film inside but he was telling us some of the harrowing details that are coming out um from people that people are still being found today uh that some people are being brought in they’re having to have um limbs amputated because they’ve been crushed under

Buildings for so long so really in this discussion with the manager we really learned some really um kind of troubling details about what the survivors of of this earthquake are still facing um in this part of Japan and how high are the hopes of finding more survivors at this

Stage well now we we’ve passed the 72h hour mark since the earthquake struck and regardless of where the earthquake an earthquake takes place this is the point after which finding survivors becomes increasingly more difficult that has been made even more problematic and more troubling and more difficult

Because of the problems with access I mean we we drove up to wajima from a city further in the south of of Japan today it was a a journey that’s meant to take about an hour and a half it took about 7 hours and we we encountered some

Of the emergency response vehicles that have been drafted in from other parts of Japan on the way sometimes those emergency Vehicles were allowed to pass through um special Lanes to get to the the affected areas faster but then often we would encounter them just further up

The road so it gives you some sense just because there are landslides that have taken out a lot of um key arterial roads and that’s making it really difficult for anyone um to get supplies in we were also at a supermarket earlier on across the city where they were having to

Ration supplies um for residents of wajima um because it’s still so difficult to get anything up here James just briefly Japan has always prided itself for being Quake resilient does this earthquake shake that image yeah I I think this this earthquake has brought together a Confluence of really difficult factors

Japan does pride itself on being um a country that deals with earthquakes very well but what’s happened here is that there’s um you have a really remote region you have only a few arterial roads um that to get to this region which have been blocked off um by by the

Earthquake and then another Factor when you compare it to previous earthquakes like the 2011 earthquake which devastated much of um uh the eastern part of Japan and led to tens of thousands of deaths the the difference here was that you had uh the epicenter much closer to the mainland um where

Where we are right now it’s mostly the older buildings that don’t have the earthquake proof infrastructure um that have been destroyed but um you know it it it is a difficult uh uh recovery effort ongoing here DW is James chat joining us from wajima in Japan thank you

Japan has reinforced crews working to find survivors of the devastating New Year’s Day earthquakes. The confirmed death toll has risen to 84, with at least 79 more unaccounted for. Rescuers are still struggling to reach some of the worst-hit areas. Survival rates significantly drop once 72 hours have passed, emergency responders say.

The 7.6 magnitude quake hit the Noto peninsula on Japan’s western coast on Monday. At least 81 people have thus far been killed and at least 79 others are still unaccounted for. More than 150 have been rescued. “There are many people left behind in the collapsed buildings, waiting to be rescued,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference. “We will use all of our efforts to rescue as many people as possible by this evening, when 72 hours will pass since the disaster.” Kishida pledged roughly 4 billion yen ($28 million; €25.5 million) of the national budget on Thursday for disaster relief.

What’s hampering rescue operations?
Rescue efforts have been complicated by difficult weather conditions and damaged roads that have cut off many of the worst-hit areas. Though material aid has been trickling into the Noto peninsula since the quake, survivors who have been evacuated remain largely in need of more supplies. Some 3,000 meals and 5,000 bottles of water were delivered as of Wednesday to the peninsula city of Wajima. But local mayor Shigeru Sakaguchi said this was not enough for the city’s 11,000 evacuees.
“First and foremost, it’s the road — severed roads are hampering not just aid supplies, but also the recovery of electricity, water, mobile signals and other lifeline infrastructures,” he said. The government has pledged to proactively provide supplies, rather than waiting for official requests from local authorities. It also opted to transfer aid via sea, though this route also had its limitations, as larger ships have been unable to dock due to the seabed being buckled by the quake.

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46 comments

  2. These events are just so tragic and heartbreaking always. My heart and thoughts are with the families of those who lost their life and with all those affected by this in one way or another. Stay strong Japan!!

    We went through a 6.4 quake on Jan 7 of 2020 here in Puerto RIco, that left us all in the dark for a long time and there was a lot of devastation. Many people lost their homes including some of my family members. It hit at 4:24am, the shaking and sounds of things shattering everywhere was terrifying. I was left with ptsd and every loud sound or vibration of even a car passing by is enough to cause me bad anxiety. I cannot imagine anything more than that. We get minor quakes here and there and that is always scary thinking that a bigger one can happen. Because before the 6.4 one we had a 5.0 one which was terrifying because it was actually the first time in my 40 years of life that I had ever experienced something like that.

    I hope everyone there gets all the support and help they need.

  5. What sort of question is that last one? Earthquakes bring about different levels of destruction depending on distance from the epicenter. No country, as prepared as it may be for one, can predict that. If the structures are too close to the epicenter they will suffer more damage.

  10. Question of the host asking if Japan’s image of priding itself in efficiency addressing this kind of emergency is being challenged now, this question sounds out of tune with the situation, it lacks compassion as a minimum and is seems to be seeking to gloat over their difficulties. My compassion to the victims of this disaster. Disappointed with the host’s attitude.

  12. Natural disasters, this is who America should be supportive of, not people who don't stand for their rights in their own country but flock to America demanding everything they want

  14. Sending prayers❤❤ and love to those in Japan. May God give you strength and courage.
    So very sorry you are experiencing this horrible event.

  15. My thoughts and prayer to all affected in this earthquake in Japan . Condolences to all families who lost there love ones. 😢😢Prayer from Israel🇮🇱🇮🇱

  19. You have probably heard the news about a major earthquake in a foreign country that destroyed a city.
    But you may think, "It doesn't matter because it's a foreign country.
    However, disasters can happen in any country, so we should prepare for them and take lessons from them.
    If you can learn lessons from this disaster, the sacrifices of those affected will not have been in vain.

  20. سلام علیکم خوش آمدید
    خالق متعال از شما راضی باشد خواهران و برادان خوب ما، توصیه میکنیم به خواندن پنج وقت نماز به موقع و آموزش ترجمه نماز.
    روزه گرفتن در ماه مبارک رمضان و روز هایی دوشنبه‌ و پنجشنبه‌ و دیگر روزهایی توصیه شده در دین مبین اسلام.
    پرداخت زکات مال به موقع، چون به مال و ثروت برکت میاورد.
    رفتن به حج یکبار در عمر در صرورتیکه توان پرداخت مصارف آن باشد فرض میباشد.‌. ‌.
    جلوگیری شود از: سرقت، خیانت، دروغ، رشوت، ظلم به خود و دیگران، الکوحول، قتل، هرنوع مواد نشه کننده، سگرت و امثال آن، دشنام و ناسزاگویی به دیگران،
    مهم و توجه شود به: صداقت، راستگویی، امانت‌داری، احسان و نیکی به والدین، کمک به دیگران، رفتار درست و مناسب با مردم و بخصوص با همسایگان، دعوت دیگرا ن بسوی الله متعال و یکتاپرستی، امر به معروف. و نیکی و نهی و منع کردن از منکر و بدی، رعایت نظاف پاک نگهداشتن بدن و لباس.
    از شنيدن موسيقی خودداري کنید و تلاوت قرآن کریم و ذکر خالق متعال را جایگزین آن کنید.
    و به خواهران خوب خود پیشنهاد میکنیم که هنگام خروج از منزل از استفاده عطریات و میک آپ (استعمال رنگ هایی مختلف به صورت و لبها) جلوگیری کنند چون شرعا ممنوع میباشد. حجاب را بشکل درست رعایت کنند
    خالق متعال از شما راضی باشد.💙🖊🙂
    اگر دنیا به کس پاینده میبود
    محمد (ص)تا قیامت زنده میبود

  21. Some are going to have to be relocated, heaven forbid it aint to N. Korea, Kim has been waaay too nice and interested in Japans disasters and as we all know, Kim is short soldiers. Pray for Japan!!!

  23. ✈💮✈🎄🎄🎋💮🎄🎄*God demonstrated His love to us by sending His Son Jesus Christ, who died and rose from the dead to Give us eternal life.* If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead He'll give you eternal life He also promised to heal your body.

    (Look up at the sky and ask God)

  29. 🇹🇹❤🇯🇵 My condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Japan. Japanese are some of the most resilient people.on this earth! Love from Trinidad

  33. When you are going through difficult times in your life, don’t isolate yourself. There are people who have been through what you might be facing right now and they overcame it. Don’t push people away, surround yourself with people who are spiritually mature and get the help that you need. Isolation when you are in pain and don’t know if there’s a way out is dangerous and that’s why we have suicide cases. Listen, there’s nothing that you can be facing that God is not able to solve for with God nothing is impossible. Hold on. Jesus loves you.

  37. My mom and I are so heartbroken of what has happened to Japan. Our thoughts and prayers for those affected by the devastation..

  41. ライフラインが破損したらEVcarは使えない　携帯給油できるガソリン車がベスト　災害の多い国にはEV car は向かないってわかったかな？　クルマの充電量で生活の足しにならない

  46. 現在、こちらは雪が降り積もってきました
    行方不明者300人超え、避難者は3万人

    必ずまた立ち上がる

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