At least 126 people have died in Japan after New Year’s Day’s powerful earthquake, and more than 200 are missing.
On Saturday, hope was lit to find more alive in the ruins when an almost 100-year-old woman was dug out alive.
Thousands of rescue workers from across Japan continue to search for people buried under collapsed houses on the Noto Peninsula, which was hit by the devastating quake.
The rescue work is hampered by bad weather and the fact that roads were destroyed in the earthquake and the landslides that followed.
From one of the worst affected cities, Suzu, unexpected positive news came late Saturday. Then an elderly woman, whose age is described as over 90, could be unearthed after five days under the racial masses. She was alive and taken to a hospital, authorities said.
In Suzu, 38 people have been found dead after the earthquake, only the port city of Wajima has been hit harder. There, the quake caused an extensive fire and at least 69 people died.
“Blocked by debris”
The powerful earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.5, occurred off the coast of Ishikawa on New Year’s Day. Over 23,000 households in the area on Japan’s west coast are still without electricity and more than 66,000 lack running water.
Over 30,000 people have sought shelter in the hundreds of evacuation centers set up by the authorities.
The small coastal community of Shiromaru was hit by a several meter high tsunami after the earthquake. Now the village is described as a mess of wood, metal and plastic debris.
– We have not received any help here. The main street is still blocked by rubble, and nothing has been done about it, a 69-year-old man told AFP.
– The tsunami came from Shiromaru Bay and through the river, and then rushed up the main street, he says.