More than 200 earthquakes occurred in central Japan on January 1 and 2. At least 55 people were killed, and more than 100 were injured of varying degrees of severity. Almost 60,000 people were evacuated.
The magnitude of the most powerful earthquake was 7.6. The epicenter was located near Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures. The seismic event was the strongest for this part of the country since 1885. A tsunami threat was declared.
The cities of Wajima and Suzu (Ishikawa Prefecture) suffered the most.
The earthquakes led to large-scale fires — in Ishikawa Prefecture alone, fire destroyed more than 200 houses. Over 100 more buildings collapsed directly from the tremors.
Rescuers believe that the number of victims will increase: people may remain under the rubble of more than 50 collapsed buildings.