At least 50 dead after monster Japan quake

WAJIMA, Japan: Japanese rescuers battled the clock and powerful aftershocks on Tuesday to find survivors of a New Year´s Day earthquake that killed at least 50 people and caused widespread destruction.

The 7.5 magnitude quake that rattled Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu triggered tsunami waves more than a metre high, sparked a major fire and tore apart roads.

On the Noto Peninsula, the destruction included buildings damaged by fire, houses flattened, fishing boats sunk or washed ashore, and highways hit by landslides.

“I´m amazed the house is this broken and everyone in my family managed to come out of it unscathed,” said Akiko, standing outside her parents´ tilting home in the badly hit city of Wajima.

The way 2024 started “will be etched into my memory forever”, she told AFP after what she called the long and violent earthquake on Monday.

“It was such a powerful jolt,” Tsugumasa Mihara, 73, said as he queued with hundreds of others for water in the nearby town of Shika.

Japanese news agency Kyodo put the death toll to 57, citing local officials, as rescuers comb through the rubble.

“Very extensive damage has been confirmed, including numerous casualties, building collapses and fires,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after a disaster response meeting.