THE death toll from the earthquake that struck Ishikawa Prefecture and surrounding areas in Central Japan on New Year’s Day has now surpassed two hundred.
Ongoing extensive search operations currently involve one hundred individuals working to locate victims in a market in Wajima City.
More than eighteen thousand people are still staying the in evacuation centers of Ishikawa Prefecture, with dozens reported to have contracted COVID-19.
Estimates suggest that over eighty schools in Wajima and Suzu have been unable to resume classes due to damaged facilities caused by the powerful earthquake.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet approved an allocation of over 4-B yen from the reserve funds of the fiscal 2023 budget to support earthquake victims.
Meanwhile, the government also plans to increase the reserve funds from 500-B yen ($27.7-M), for the current fiscal year beginning in April to fund Japanese disaster recovery projects.
