As snow and sleet impeded rescue and relief efforts, Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida vowed to provide ceaseless support to areas ravaged by the New Year’s Day earthquake.
The bad weather on the Noto peninsula perplexed survivors in the epicentre of the magnitude 7.6 quake, which left more than 30,000 people homeless and cut power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
At least 222 people are still missing, and further heavy snow or rain is anticipated for the region overnight.
Construction vehicles were seen excavating through three metres high heaps of dirt to uncover buildings buried by landslides.
“Rescuing people trapped under the rubble and responding to isolated areas are issues that must be tackled with the highest priority”, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated.
PM Kishida went on to say, “As we move forward with ceaseless reconstruction and recovery efforts, we must not hesitate in responding due to budget constraints in the disaster-affected areas”.
Kishida announced on Friday that his government will use 4.74 billion yen ($32.77 million) in budget reserves for reconstruction.
The governor of Ishikawa Prefecture issued a state of emergency on Saturday, calling the quake an unprecedented disaster for the region.
As fuel supply to the region gradually recovered, a queue of cars stretching as far as the eye could see had formed in the city of Wajima, on the peninsula’s northern shore, to refuel at a petrol station.
As per the report, Prefectural governments have sent trailers equipped with multiple flushable toilets to evacuation centres in Wajima and other disaster-stricken cities, where water supplies have only recently resumed.
Some of the 700 people taking shelter near Wajima’s famed ‘Asaichi’ morning market, which was destroyed by the quake, stood in a queue on the stairwell, carrying boxes of water to a higher floor.
The centre’s receptionist stated, “Some people have left as electricity is restored in parts of the city (but) we are still at capacity and not accepting new evacuees”.
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