No fewer than 240 people are said to be missing after a massive earthquake struck the west coast of Japan on New Year’s Day rose to more than 240 on Friday.
Local media reports said that the government has doubled the number of soldiers deployed to the disaster area to 4,600 to support the emergency services.
The search for survivors continued four days after the quakes struck the country with reports that people are still trapped under collapsed buildings.
Rescue efforts have also been reportedly slowed due to mountains of rubble, damaged roads, landslides and aftershocks.
The hardest hit is the Ishikawa Prefecture where at least 700 people are still cut off from the outside world.
The report said that around 30,000 households had lost their power supply and 80,000 households had lost their water supply.
Local authorities disclosed that around 33,000 people still have to hold out in hundreds of emergency shelters.
Since the earthquake on New Year’s Day with a magnitude of 7.6, the region on the Sea of Japan has been shaken by more than 150 aftershocks.
