Hopes fade for survivors of Japan quake; 92 dead, 242 missing

The worst thing I can imagine, after giving up on a loved one, is "where are they?" If there is nothing left these people will always wonder. I hope the missing who are not found at least died quickly.

I think it is better for that building to tumble over rather than implode.

People are desperate for aid and proper shelter.

At least there was no tsunami. Tragic nonetheless.

Those numbers are getting pretty large now. That's a lot of casualties.

Big jump in missing numbers! :(

That toppled building is a truly surreal picture.

It would be nice if articles about the disaster could guide people about what can be done to help, lots of people are trying to do even a little, but without knowing what is necessary or how to reach the people in need those intentions may be wasted or delayed. At least it would be very useful to promote verified destinations for people to donate money without worrying about scams.

It’s just terrible. By the way that toppled building crushed a 3 storey wooden building.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nkep9Vpnjw9nXKjg9?g_st=ic

Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year and most cause no damage, with strict building codes in place for more than four decades.

Almost all earthquakes in almost all places are so small that they merely frighten us. They are no more "natural disasters" that high winds or heavy rain. What matters are the one in a few centuries earthquakes. That's what you need sturdy buildings and disaster preparation for. A big one is incomparable to a quite big one, or anything weaker. In Kanto, no house built after 1923 has been "tested" (I hate this word) by an actual big (6 or higher) earthquake.

The building codes were bumped up again after Kobe so maybe that should be "three decades". Rules about concrete walls, vending machines, Eco Cutes etc. changed more recently.

It is to Japan's credit that the death toll is low. This quake was genuinely huge and hit mostly old houses with mostly old people. However, I still think its poor preparation that some shelters have little food, water or blankets. This is a remote area always likely to be cut off by landslides. There were dozens if not hundreds of such landslides in the Kumamoto earthquake.

Horrible. We are looking at a death toll in the several hundreds. Yes - it could be much worse - especially if the impact was on a more built-up area - but still an absolute tragedy for thousands of people.

@elvis is here--there were tsunami, large enough to tip over and ground boats and push numerous homes inland. Did you mean a tsunami of the scale seen on 3/11/11?

Thinking that upgraded regulations in a massive earthquake is a form of protection is insufficient.

Look the toppled building in the picture.

It has literally sheared off from its foundations at the ground floor level.

When earth pushes up and drops down then steel and concrete will buckle and break.

I have seen similar buildings with the same damage before.

Its only the massively expensive skyscrapers in Japan that are designed to sway which prevents shearing that are truly resistant to damage.

Skyscrapers are built on piles and then shock-absorbing pillars. Extensive groundwork first. The building is isolated from the ground.

If there was no tsunami how did the fishing boats end up on the land?

My uncle liked sailing and he would take his boats (he had a few) out of the water, or should I say the sea, using a trailer attached to his car.

Maybe the fishing boats were taken on to land in the same way for a new year clean?

Just a thought

The US has so many hardware and personnel resources on the ground in Japan, with so much more 12-15 hours away.

Why is Japan too proud to ask for help?

Photos show fishing boats carried onto the dock and land by the tsunami.

There is always hope.,.

Woman in her 80s rescued from collapsed house 72 hours after Japan quake

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240105/p2a/00m/0na/002000c

Burning Bush

does TorafusuTorasan also know that?

The numbers killed remains an open question.

Thinking that upgraded regulations in a massive earthquake is a form of protection is insufficient.

Look the toppled building in the picture.

I'll disagree here. I suspect that building collapsed in that way due to structural issues, and it was not inevitable due to the force of the quake. It had a car port-like recessed open space underneath it that can be seen on Google Street View. Garages and workshops with open spaces collapse much easier than houses in earthquakes.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3937854,136.9028453,3a,90y,38.64h,95.03t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smzvwPnUgBd0WegdJAeiM2w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

When no more lives can be saved and the survivors' immediate needs have been seen to, it will be interested to see how houses that are twenty years old or newer fared in Wajima and Suzu. I would imagine that they will have stood up to the quake much better than old houses. A few new houses were lost in Mashiki near Kumamoto, but they were hit by Shindo 6+ and then 7 one day later. There are no records of that happening before.

Why is Japan too proud to ask for help?

Do you know for a fact that Japan did not ask for help? Or do you know that any extremal help is needed / can arrive in time to be usefull?

There is always hope.,.

Woman in her 80s rescued from collapsed house 72 hours after Japan quake

Time to really step up the S & R for one last push. The next few days will be vital.

Burning Bush

I haven't made any comparison with 2011. I have mentioned it in a single comment. That would be illogical. The foreign media though are full of it which sends my family into a panic with their headline "Earthquake All Over Japan".

But there is mass devastation. Wajima is destroyed. Earthquake stronger than Kobe but in a less populated area.

This is a major disaster and will take time to recover.

Tourism to the area was starting to recover after the Covid period. And now.

NHK

The city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, observed a tsunami of more than 1.2 meters at 4:21 p.m. on Monday following a major quake.

A boat washed ashore in Wajima.

https://p.potaufeu.asahi.com/f8d8-p/picture/28066486/651bf2c16f2800d94001844451565dcd.jpg

I don't know what anybody is trying to achieve by posting photos like that of the boat washed up. We don't need to see it as there are photos of the horrific damage done here on this website and all over the net.

The only good news are the stories of survival against the odds like the woman in her 80s who was rescued from the rubble. Let's hope for more of this kind of story and comments.

Burning Bush

There is no comparison between this Ishikawa disaster and that in 2011. The tsunami in 2011 reached 40m, 130 feet.

Japan's various rescue teams were already standby January 1st.

But present Govt's response is too late and too small, victimizing the lives who could have been rescued if rescue teams arrived there.

Many evacuees still face insufficiency of food or water and severe cold.

Poor evacuation places without privacy or preventing infection are not improved from decades before.

Domestic major media only beautify evacuees' patiences as touching story.

Blacksamurai

so we shouldn’t post about the mass destruction and the deaths.

I posted the boat because another denied there was a tsunami.

The foreign media though are full of it which sends my family into a panic with their headline "Earthquake All Over Japan".

Was that an actual headline somewhere? I find that hard to believe. Or the quality of journalism is but very high.

*not very high

Where is the fleet of helicopters carrying emergency supplies?

The foreign media though are full of it which sends my family into a panic with their headline "Earthquake All Over Japan".

With respect, I'm stunned anyone would believe an earthquake could affect ALL of Japan. Media or their consumers. It is an incredibly long archipelago - not a single tiny island.

Report (Ver.3) : 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake: The Japanese Red Cross Society's Response

https://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/2024NotoPeninsulaEarthquake.html

Fighto!

The foreign media though are full of it which sends my family into a panic with their headline "Earthquake All Over Japan".

> With respect, I'm stunned anyone would believe an earthquake could affect ALL of Japan. Media or their consumers. It is an incredibly long archipelago - not a single tiny island.

My family in Europe/UK/US do because of all the horror shown after the 2011 disasters believe the headlines. Most of them except a brother in Italy do not live in earthquake-prone countries. This earthquake reached a very large part of Honshu more than 75%.

When we saw the news on the box my partner cried, she has elderly relatives there. They were evacuated but all fine.

On twitter I found that there was a mother and sister trapped in the crushed building, anyone know if they were rescued alive? The isakaya was popular, I'm so sad.

A mother and daughter died, they bought her a new kimono for coming of age, and she never got to see it. I'm so sad. People should be held accountable for this. High rise buildings are not supposed to tip over.