Japan earthquake: Woman in 90s found alive under rubble five days later
A woman in her 90s has been discovered alive beneath the debris five days after a powerful earthquake struck central Japan. Rescue teams located her within the remains of a two-story building in the town of Suzu.
The 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the Japan Sea coast on Monday, causing widespread destruction in towns on the isolated Noto peninsula. The death toll has exceeded 120, with 200 individuals still missing.
As reported by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, around 100 rescuers were dispatched to Suzu upon receiving information about two women trapped under rubble.
The elderly woman found responsive, is suspected to be experiencing hypothermia. Additionally, rescuers discovered a woman in her 40s in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest at the same location.
The initial 72 hours following a disaster are crucial for rescue operations, and finding survivors becomes increasingly challenging thereafter. Remarkably, these two women were located days after this critical timeframe had elapsed.
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are utilizing helicopters to conduct rescue missions and provide supplies to isolated areas, as numerous roads remain impassable.
The forecasted wet weather on Sunday in some quake-affected areas may pose challenges to rescue efforts, with authorities cautioning that even a small amount of rain could trigger additional landslides.
They also warned that a cold front is expected on Sunday, which could bring snowfall through Monday in mountainous areas of the quake-hit Ishikawa prefecture.
More than 30,000 people are being housed in government shelters.
As of Saturday, around 23,200 households were without electricity in Ishikawa and more than 66,400 lacked running water.
Ishikawa’s governor Hiroshi Hase said during a disaster management meeting that the prefecture was facing “extremely severe situations”.
He also warned that restoring running water would take a long time “as many water pipes have cracks”.
Some hospitals and facilities for taking care of elderly and disabled people have also lost power and water.
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, and activity has been increasing around Noto since the end of 2020. More than 500 small and medium earthquakes have hit there over the past three years.
