{"id":272043,"date":"2024-01-05T01:00:36","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T01:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hamslivenews.com\/?p=272043"},"modified":"2024-01-05T06:55:44","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T06:55:44","slug":"japan-earthquake-race-against-time-to-find-survivors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hamslive.com\/news\/2024\/01\/japan-earthquake-race-against-time-to-find-survivors\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan earthquake: Race against time to find survivors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thousands of rescuers pressed on in a search for survivors of a New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 84 people in Japan, hoping to save as many as possible despite a three-day survival window that ended on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

“We must continue putting all of our efforts into rescuing people, even beyond 72 hours after the disaster,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a news conference.<\/p>\n

Survival rates drop off 72 hours after a quake, according to emergency responders.<\/p>\n

So far 156 people have been rescued, but at least 179 others remain unaccounted for, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

The extent of the damage from the earthquake and the tsunami it triggered remains unclear, with rescuers struggling to reach the northernmost areas of the peninsula – where much of the fatalities are – due to severed roads.<\/p>\n

Three days after disaster struck, 30 villages remain inaccessible, according to Ishikawa prefecture authorities.<\/p>\n

Material aid has trickled in but many evacuees remain largely cut off from food, water, electricity, and communications amid freezing temperatures and bad weather, authorities have also said.<\/p>\n

The 3,000 meals and 5,000 water bottles that were delivered as of Wednesday are not nearly enough for the 11,000 evacuees in Wajima city, its mayor, Shigeru Sakaguchi, said at a regional disaster response meeting.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

There were almost 100 chokepoints and blockages on prefectural roads as of Thursday, according to Ishikawa officials.<\/p>\n

Kishida pledged on Thursday to tap roughly 4 billion yen ($28 million) of the national budget for disaster relief.<\/p>\n

(Reuters)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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