Ishikawa, Jan 09 (NHK) - The number of people killed in the New Year's Day earthquake in central Japan has risen to 180. Officials in Ishikawa Prefecture say more than 120 people are still unaccounted for, and tens of thousands impacted by the disaster are still struggling.
Search and recovery crews are still sifting through the city of Wajima, near the earthquake's epicenter.
More than 200 buildings were burned down by a massive fire sparked during the disaster.
Starting Tuesday, police plan to conduct an intensive 4-day search to find anything left behind.
Ishikawa Prefecture says more than 3,000 people in the Noto region remain isolated.
Yamashita Kanako, an evacuee and a volunteer at shelter in Wajima says people there don't have enough drinking water. She says they are boiling spring water or bringing buckets of water from a river so they can flush their toilets.
As the recovery continues, findings suggest the disaster could have a lasting impact on the region's fishing industry. Japan's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry says more than 120 fishing boats capsized or sank, mainly around Suzu City.
Japan's Meteorological Agency warns people should not let their guard down just yet even though it is over a week since New Year's Day's magnitude 7.6 earthquake.
The agency is warning of possible quakes with upper five or more intensity on Japan's zero-to-seven seismic scale over the coming month.
Source: FNNプライムオンライン
