Japan earthquake death toll reaches 206 as government includes indirect deaths
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The search for survivors continues in Japan after an earthquake rocked the nation on Jan. 1. At least 81 fatalities were confirmed in the Ishikawa prefecture. Sniffer dogs helped with the searches.
Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The death toll from the New Year's Day Japan earthquake increased to 206 on Wednesday after officials included deaths not directly related to the quake's impact.
In all, the death toll included 91 in Suzu City, another 83 in Wajima City and 20 in Anamizu as of Wednesday afternoon. Authorities confirmed that more than 567 were injured as a result of the tremor and its aftershocks.
The new death toll included eight people who are believed to have died due to illness or other health issues that deteriorated due to the aftermath of the quake, including the stress of evacuating or living in evacuation shelters.
It marked the first time the Ishikawa prefecture government had included indirect deaths in the total.
Police officers search victims from debris of damaged and burnt buildings in Wajima in the Noto peninsula facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Monday's temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
As many as 26,000 people were still being housed in evacuation shelters while about 3,100 were isolated from rescue crews and humanitarian assistance because of damaged roads, increasing the possibility of additional indirect deaths.
The government was working to move evacuees, especially the elderly, to other locations as many evacuation centers within Ishikawa lacked water and electricity and continued to be impacted by smaller quakes.
Some evacuees in Ishikawa were transported to a sports center in Kanazawa on Wednesday before moving them to hotels.
The number of missing people was cut nearly in half from 102 on Tuesday to just 52 on Wednesday.
The government, however, was sharing names and ages of people who they were unable to contact whether or not it was confirmed they were affected by the earthquake as officials worry some may not be able to report their status as communication lines and travel routes are still cut off.
"Even if the [missing person] information is wrong, that is okay, if it turns out the person is safe," a government official said, according to Kyodo News. "We are releasing the numbers to narrow down those who really need to be searched for and rescued."
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