Death toll tops 200 in Japan's quake-hit Ishikawa

TOKYO, Japan

The death toll reached 202 in the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa as of Tuesday afternoon after a series of earthquakes of up to 7.6 magnitude struck the prefecture and its vicinity, local media reported.

A total of 102 people remained unaccounted for in the hardest-hit prefecture as of 2 p.m. local time, while at least 565 people suffered injuries due to the quakes, the public broadcaster NHK said.

Local police have carried out a large-scale search for the missing people in Wajima City, near the quake's epicenter, where a massive fire in the city center destroyed more than 200 buildings in an area of 48,000 square meters, the report said.

According to the prefectural government, at least 3,300 people, primarily in Wajima and the adjacent city of Suzu, remain isolated due to severed roads and heavy snowfall, with the recovery of electricity, water supply, and other infrastructure still unclear.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government on Tuesday approved the allocation of 4.74 billion yen (about 33 million U.S. dollars) from reserve funds in the fiscal 2023 budget to support the victims of the Noto Peninsula quake, including measures to help those affected cope with the cold weather.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said Tuesday that the number of Self-Defense Forces personnel taking part in rescue operations had increased by around 200 to roughly 6,300.