215 dead, 28 missing in Japan's quake-hit Ishikawa prefecture
Crooked signs hang over a road damaged in the January 1 earthquake in Nishiaraya, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan January 8.
The death toll rose to 215 in the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa on Friday, after a series of strong quakes of up to 7.6 magnitude jolted the prefecture and its vicinity, local media reported.
The number of people remained unaccounted for dropped to 28 in the hardest-hit prefecture as of 2pm local time, while at least 577 people suffered injuries due to the quakes, public broadcaster NHK said.
Of the 215, 14 were not directly killed in the earthquake but are believed to have died due to health issues, in some cases associated with the stress of being evacuated, according to the Ishikawa prefectural government.
Construction of temporary housing units for people whose homes were damaged by the powerful earthquake began on Friday, according to local authorities.
The prefectural government is building 115 makeshift houses across four locations in Wajima and Suzu, two cities hit hard by the earthquake, aiming to have them completed in a month.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday some 23,700 units of emergency housing have been secured for people whose homes were damaged by the quake.
Kishida instructed relevant ministers to take prompt action so that people who want to move into emergency housing can do so as soon as possible, and called for promoting the use of secondary evacuation places, such as hotels, to which evacuees in makeshift shelters can move.
On Friday, Japan Post resumed accepting packages to be delivered to Nanao City, Shika Town and Nakanoto Town in Ishikawa, as road repairs are progressing and the post office branches there now have the space to store them.
Japan Post said it is also accepting packages to be sent from the three municipalities, noting that parcel services remain suspended in the other four municipalities, Suzu, Wajima, Anamizu and Noto.
