Japan’s prime minister promises “uninterrupted” aid as snow hampers earthquake relief

JAPAN:

Japan’s prime minister vowed to provide “uninterrupted” support to areas devastated by the New Year earthquake as snow and sleet hampered rescue and relief efforts and local media reported the disaster had now claimed at least 126 lives.

Adverse weather conditions in the southern peninsula continued to trouble survivors at the epicenter of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that left more than 30,000 homeless and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

At least 222 people are still listed as missing and more heavy snow or rain is forecast overnight for the region.

Footage from national broadcaster NHK showed construction trucks digging through three-meter (almost 10 feet) piles of dirt to dig out houses buried by landslides.

“Rescuing people trapped under the rubble and responding to isolated areas are issues that must be addressed with the highest priority,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told an NHK program on Sunday.

“As we move forward with unrelenting reconstruction and recovery efforts, we must not hesitate to respond due to budget constraints in disaster-affected areas,” he added.

Reading The death toll from the earthquake in Japan has exceeded 100 with hundreds missing

Kishida had said on Friday that his government would tap 4.74 billion yen ($32.77 million) of budget reserves for reconstruction efforts.

The governor of Ishikawa Prefecture, where the Noto Peninsula is located, declared a state of emergency on Saturday, calling the quake “an unprecedented disaster” for the region, NHK reported.

In the town of Wajima, on the peninsula’s northern coast, a line of cars stretching as far as the eye could see had formed to refuel at a service station as fuel supplies to the area gradually returned.

Prefectural governments have sent trailers equipped with several flushable toilets to evacuation centers in Wajima and other disaster-hit towns where water supplies are just being restored, NHK reported.

At a center near Wajima’s famous “Asaichi” morning market, which burned to the ground after the quake, some of the 700 people who had taken shelter there lined a staircase, passing cans of water to the highest floors.

“Some people left as electricity was restored in parts of the city (but) we are still in place and are not accepting new evacuees,” the center’s receptionist said.