Japan earthquake death toll hits 200

The death toll from the massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck western Japan and flattened parts of Ishikawa, has reached 200 with over 100 still missing.

The earthquake struck at 4:10 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometres, 6 miles around 42 kilometres, and 26 miles northeast of Anamizu in Ishikawa on Monday, January 1.

Eight days later thousands of rescuers were battling blocked roads and poor weather to clear the wreckage as well as reach almost 3,500 people still stuck in isolated communities.

Ishikawa regional authorities released figures on Tuesday showing that 202 people were confirmed dead, up from 180 earlier in the day, with 102 unaccounted for, down from 120.

On Monday, authorities had more than tripled the number of missing to 323 after central databases were updated, with most of the rise related to badly hit Wajima.

But since then “many families let us know that they were able to confirm the safety of the persons (on the list)”, Ishikawa official Hayato Yachi told AFP.

The country is haunted by the monster quake of 2011 that triggered a tsunami, left around 18,500 people dead or missing, and caused a nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima plant.