In the eve of New Year celebration, Japan has experienced 155 earthquakes. According to Japan meteorological Office, the earthquakes were including a 7.6-magnitude jolt and another over 6. But the seismic activity has gradually decreased; six significant tremors were still felt early Tuesday. These major earthquakes struck central Japan, At least eight people have been killed as police and local authorities early on Tuesday reported cases of bodies being pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings. The quakes triggered Tsunami waves over a meter high, causing damage to home and speaking a major fire that wrought destruction overnight.
NHK reported that the Japanese government ordered more than 97,000 people to evacuate their homes on Monday night, sending them to sports halls and school gymnasiums, commonly used as evacuation centres in emergencies. But around 33,000 households remained without power in Ishikawa and most areas in the northern Noto peninsula also had no water supply.
Thousands of army personnel, firefighters and police officers from across the country have been dispatched to the worst-hit area in the relatively remote Noto peninsula. However, rescue efforts were hindered by badly damaged and blocked roads and one of the area’s airports was forced to close due to runway cracks. Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the earthquakes have caused “extensive damage with numerous casualties. Very extensive damage has been confirmed, including numerous casualties, building collapses and fires,”. And he told reporters, describing a “race against time” to rescue victims.