'A Race Against Time To Save People': Scenes Of Devastation Strike Japan On New Year

Social media has been flooded with visuals of houses collapsing and huge cracks appearing on the grounds in Japan as terrified people rush to shops and train stations to take shelter.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 2 January 2024 4:58 pm

Visual from Japans earthquake-hit Ishikawa Prefacture

As the world walked into a new year with hope for the better, in Japan, it was a “race against time” to save the people buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings and houses. Scenes of devastation emerged from the western coast and central Japan after an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture on Monday afternoon with subsequent aftershocks.

Following the first quake, at least 155 quakes have hit the country in 24 hours triggering Tsunami waves as high as five feet, collapsing buildings, and sparking fires. The death toll, till now, has been estimated to be at least 48 as of Tuesday afternoon. The central city of Wajima, home to more than 27,000 people, appeared to be among the worst hit. At least 33,000 households were affected by power outages, said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa.

"Very extensive damage has been confirmed, including numerous casualties, building collapses and fires," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after a disaster response meeting. He added, "We have to race against time to search for and rescue victims of the disaster."

Social media has been flooded with visuals of houses collapsing and huge cracks appearing on the grounds as terrified people rush to shops and train stations to take shelter.

“Hang in there, hang in there,” firefighters tried to assure people as they scattered through ruins to rescue those beneath the rubble.

For its geographical location, Japan often experiences several earthquakes every year and one of the worst being a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan in 2011 which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing. It also swamped the Fukushima atomic plant, causing one of the world's worst nuclear disasters.

As warnings of more quakes striking Japan this week have been alerted, Outlook looks at its archive ‘Deliver Us From Greed’, where we explore how disasters have a long history and maybe not all of them are ‘natural’, and always. The issue explores how man-made factors of climate change, mindless constructions, and ignorance of history often double the disasters and then we forget the lessons from it.