Japanese rescuers race to find survivors as quake death toll rises to 78
Al Jazeera
Scale of damage to roads and poor weather hamper relief efforts, three days after quake off Noto Peninsula.
More than 50 people have been reported missing, as Japanese rescuers battle the cold to reach communities that remain cut off three days after a devastating earthquake struck the country’s western coast.
At least 78 people have been confirmed dead and 330 injured since the magnitude 7.6 earthquake off the Noto Peninsula on January 1, according to local authorities.
On Thursday, officials published a list of 51 people from three cities whose whereabouts could not be confirmed.
More than a dozen communities have been cut off.
Soldiers, firefighters and police officers from across Japan are searching through collapsed wooden houses and toppled commercial buildings for signs of life. Experts say the first three days are especially critical because the prospects for survival drop sharply after that.
