Japan marked a week on Monday since a New Year’s Day earthquake rocked Ishikawa Prefecture, with authorities saying the death toll had risen to at least 161 overnight as snow continued to complicate relief efforts.
This included 70 each in the hard-hit cities of Wajima and Suzu, according to the prefecture. Meanwhile, the number of people still missing dipped to 103, from 195.
The magnitude 7.6 earthquake, which registered a 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale — the strongest rating — resulted in tsunami waves, felled buildings and triggered a large-scale fire, devastating the Noto Peninsula area of Ishikawa.
Scores of aftershocks, including a handful that registered as strong as 5 on the Japanese scale, continued to hit the region.
Snowstorms, meanwhile, made the relief effort a difficult trudge, though the peak of heavy snowfall has passed for the Noto area. Still, authorities warned of plunging temperatures and that snow accumulation could lead to the further collapse of buildings already rendered unstable due to the powerful quake and aftershocks.
Precipitation in some areas has also caused landslides, another headache for rescuers looking to make their way to more remote areas that have been difficult to reach by vehicle.
Small groups of troops have been dispatched to the isolated areas on foot, footage released by the Defense Ministry showed, while military, police and fire department helicopters have also been deployed.
The Self-Defense Forces have sent a total of 5,900 troops to help out with the relief mission, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday. Earlier, it said this effort involved nine ships, 30 planes and 12 sniffer dogs. Those numbers were in addition to police and firefighters dispatched from across the country.
The cold weather is also likely to prevent the more than 28,000 people in some 400 shelters from appraising damage to their property.