Police officers remove the debris from a fire at a market in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. A series of powerful quakes set off a large fire in the town of Wajima, as well as tsunamis and landslides in the region. (Kyodo News via AP)稲熊成之/AP
Police officers conduct a search operation around a burnt market in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. A series of powerful quakes set off a large fire in the town of Wajima, as well as tsunamis and landslides in the region. (Kyodo News via AP)稲熊成之/AP
Firefighters remove the debris from a fire at a burnt market in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. A series of powerful quakes set off a large fire in the town of Wajima, as well as tsunamis and landslides in the region. (Kyodo News via AP)稲熊成之/AP
In this image from a video provided by Osaka Municipal Fire Department, a woman, on a stretcher, who was found trapped under her destroyed house is rescued 72 hours after a strong earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. The woman was conscious and sent to a hospital, according to Osaka Municipal Fire Department. (Osaka Municipal Fire Department via AP)AP
A resident checks her destroyed house in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)大沼廉/AP
A burned-out building and a vehicle are seen after a fire in Wajima in the Noto peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake.Hiro Komae/AP
A resident carries belongings in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)杉山麻子/AP
A road is damaged by Monday’s earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)大沼廉/AP
A resident checks her destroyed house in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)金刺洋平/AP
People affected by a strong earthquake receive food in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)松崎未来/AP
In this image from a video provided by Osaka Municipal Fire Department, a woman, center, who was found trapped under her destroyed house is rescued 72 hours after a strong earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. The woman was conscious and sent to a hospital, according to Osaka Municipal Fire Department. (Osaka Municipal Fire Department via AP)AP
Rescuers conduct a search operation in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)金刺洋平/AP
A man walks between collapsed houses in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)矢島崇貴/AP
Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces stay in their vehicles in front of a landslide that has shut down a road in Wajima in the Noto peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake.Hiro Komae/AP
Burned-out vehicles and other debris are seen after a fire at a shopping area in Wajima in the Noto peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake.Hiro Komae/AP
People walk through debris after a fire at a shopping area in Wajima in the Noto peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake.Hiro Komae/AP
Firefighters walk through debris after a fire in Wajima in the Noto peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake.Hiro Komae/AP
A man walks through debris after a fire at a shopping area in Wajima in the Noto peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake.Hiro Komae/AP
FILE – In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a year-end plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, which was held between Dec. 26, and Dec. 30, 2023, in Pyongyang, North Korea. In an unusual gesture from nearby North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un sent a message of condolence to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)���N�ʐM��/AP
Police officers conduct a search operation at a burnt market in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. A series of powerful quakes set off a large fire in the town of Wajima, as well as tsunamis and landslides in the region. (Kyodo News via AP)AP
Rain falls as police officers remove the wreckage from a fire at a burnt market in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. A series of powerful quakes set off a large fire in the town of Wajima, as well as tsunamis and landslides in the region. (Kyodo News via AP)稲熊成之/AP
Firefighters conduct a rescue operation at the site of a landslide in Anamizu town, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)松崎未来/AP
Rescuers work at a powerful earthquake hit area in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)AP
White smoke rises as firefighters work amid the wreckage from a fire at a burnt market in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. A series of powerful quakes set off a large fire in the town of Wajima, as well as tsunamis and landslides in the region. (Kyodo News via AP)AP
WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — Aftershocks threatened to bury more homes and block roads crucial for relief shipments, as the death toll from the earthquakes that rattled Japan’s western coastline last week reached 100 on Saturday.
Among the dead was a 5-year-old boy who had been recovering from injuries after boiling water spilled on him during Monday’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake. His condition suddenly worsened and he died Friday, according to Ishikawa prefecture, the hardest-hit region.
Officials warned that roads, already cracked from the dozens of earthquakes that continue to shake the area, could collapse completely. That risk was growing with rain and snow expected overnight and Sunday.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Reported deaths had reached 98 earlier Saturday, and two more deaths were reported in Anamizu city as officials were holding their daily meeting to discuss strategy and damages.
Wajima city has recorded the highest number of deaths with 59, followed by Suzu with 23. More than 500 people were injured, at least 27 of them seriously.
The temblors left roofs sitting haplessly on roads and everything beneath them crushed flat. Roads were warped like rubber. A fire turned a neighborhood in Wajima to ashes.
More than 200 people were still unaccounted for, although the number has fluctuated after shooting up two days ago. Eleven people were reported trapped under two homes that collapsed in Anamizu.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
For Shiro Kokuda, 76, the house in Wajima where he grew up was spared but a nearby temple went up in flames and he was still looking for his friends at evacuation centers.
“It’s been really tough,” he said.
Japan is one of the fastest-aging societies in the world. The population in Ishikawa and nearby areas has dwindled over the years. A fragile economy centered on crafts and tourism was now more imperiled than ever.
In an unusual gesture from nearby North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un sent a message of condolence to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Japan earlier received messages expressing sympathy and promises of aid from President Joe Biden and other allies.
Some observers say North Korea may be seeking to establish Kim’s image as a normal leader. Others say North Korea wants to improve relations with Japan, as a way to weaken the trilateral Japan-South Korea-U.S. security cooperation.
Along Japan’s coastline, power was gradually being restored, but water supplies were still short. Emergency water systems were also damaged.
Thousands of troops were flying and trucking in water, food and medicine to the more than 32,000 people who had evacuated to auditoriums, schools and other facilities.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper reported that its aerial study had located more than 100 landslides in the area, and some were blocking lifeline roads.
The urgency of the rescue operations intensified as the days wore on. But some have clung to life, trapped under pillars and walls, and were freed.
Kageyama reported from Tokyo. Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed.