Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

2-minute read
04 January 2024 | 15:11 CAT

A firefighter walks through the rubble and wreckage of a burnt-out marketplace following earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP) Photo Gallery

The aftermath of the New Year’s Day earthquake that struck Japan’s western coast has left more than 55 confirmed dead. The magnitude 7.6 earthquake, centred in Ishikawa, rattled the prefecture on Honshu Island, triggered tsunami waves more than a metre high, sparked a major fire, tore apart roads, and resulted in widespread devastation.

The destruction on the Noto Peninsula included buildings damaged by fire, houses flattened, fishing boats sinking or washed ashore, and highways hit by landslides.

About 1,000 members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces have been dispatched to the disaster zones.

More than 40,0000 households in Ishikawa remain without electricity.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency lifted all tsunami warnings for the western region by early Tuesday morning.

The agency initially issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the western coast of Honshu, as well as the northernmost of its main islands, Hokkaido.

Monday’s quake has been followed by several strong aftershocks, which the agency says could continue over the next few days.

Ishikawa, the affected region, lies near the tectonic place boundary between the Eurasian and North American plates. The Ishikawa earthquake is considered the strongest in the area since 1885.

Listen to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim with Moulana Habib Bobat and Chair of the School of Geosciences at the University of Witwatersrand, Professor Emeritus Raymond Durrheim.