Jan 12 (NHK) - Relief efforts continue following the massive New Year's day earthquake in central Japan. At least 215 people have now been confirmed dead and 38 are still unaccounted for. Officials in Ishikawa prefecture are warning that worsening weather could threaten more lives.
Some people have been able to return to hard-hit areas to survey the damage. A district in the town of Anamizu was home to about 40 shops. Many have collapsed or have been severely damaged.
The same area suffered another massive quake 17 years ago.
Local business association President Yoshimura Fusaji says the damage this time is much worse.
Last time, it felt like 'Let's go Noto, let's all work together'. But this time, he is worried whether everyone will unite in the same way.
Over 2,500 people remain isolated in parts of Ishikawa.
Efforts to reach them, and to search for people still missing, could be hampered, with rainfall and a severe cold snap forecast for some of the hardest-hit areas.
Officials are stressing the danger posed by hypothermia.
A doctor deployed to help respond to the earthquake says some deaths may have been caused by the cold.
Kanazawa Medical University Professor Mizukami Hajime says he saw bodies that could have been alive for a day or two. He believes some people suffered hypothermia after being trapped under beams of the destroyed houses.
Over 23,000 people are staying at shelters, including places like school gymnasiums.
The central government is hoping to find hotels or other accommodations for the displaced.
It's aiming to secure lodgings for 10,000 people by the end of the week.
The situation is especially dire for elderly people in quake-hit areas.
On Thursday, the Japan Self-Defense forces airlifted a number of old age home residents to medical facilities in Aichi Prefecture.
Local officials plan to resettle them in nearby homes once their medical conditions have been checked.
An NHK survey has found 22 prefectures and over 40 Japanese municipalities say they are ready to welcome people displaced by the New Year's Day disaster.
Source: ANNnewsCH
