In a series of deadly earthquakes since Monday, Japan has been jolted by 155 quakes including a 7.6-magnitude and another over 6, the Japan Meteorological Office said. According to the officials, at least forty-eight people died in a major earthquake that struck central Japan on New Year's Day.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake which struck Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu had a magnitude of 7.5 while the Japanese authorities claimed it to be 7.6 on the Richter Scale and said it was one of more than 90 quakes that had rocked the region as of 1:00 am Tuesday (1600 GMT Monday).
On average, most of the quakes had a magnitude greater than 3 and while the strength has gradually moderated, six strong jolts were still felt early Tuesday, the JMA said.
From toppled buildings, sunken boats at a port to power outages in the middle of freezing overnight temperatures - the series of quakes have left a massive trail of destruction, as per several footages online.
155 earthquakes devastate Japan: Status quo
The quake reportedly triggered tsunami waves over a metre high which damaged several homes and caused the breakout of a major fire which led to the issuing of the highest-level tsunami alert. However, later the alert was dropped but the authorities told residents of coastal areas not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come.
Around 32,700 households in the region remained without power on Tuesday, the local energy provider said.
Waves at least 1.2 metres (four feet) high hit the port of Wajima on Monday, and a series of smaller tsunamis were reported elsewhere, but warnings of much larger waves proved unfounded.
Bullet trains reach station after 11 hours of wait
Owing to the strong tremors and aftershocks, four Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet trains finally managed to reach the tations after being stranded for about 11 hours.It has been reported that the train service was suspended after the quake struck at 4:10 p.m. on Monday, stranding about 1,400 passengers.
The stranded bullet trains reached the stations by 4 am on Tuesday.
According to the railway operator, despite all the adversities, the trains maintained power and the passengers were also provided with food.
What do the authorities say?
According to the fire and disaster management agency, in light of the catastrophic event, tens of thousands of people had been evacuated, cited by Kyodo. About 1,000 people were staying at a military base.
"I instructed (emergency workers) to reach the area as soon as possible by using whatever means available," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said late Monday after a disaster response meeting.
"It is very cold now. I issued an instruction to deliver necessary supplies like water, food, blankets, heating oil, gasoline, fuel oil, by using planes or ships," Kishida told reporters.
