Wajima: The death toll has risen to 84 in the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa as of Thursday morning after a series of earthquakes of up to 7.6 magnitude struck the area on Jan 1.

"We must continue putting all of our efforts into rescuing people, even beyond 72 hours after the disaster," Reuters reported, citing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The most stricken city in Ishikawa is Wajima with the most deaths registered, the national news agency Kyodo reported, citing local authorities. 

According to the report, survival rates drop off 72 hours after a quake, stated the emergency responders.

So far, 156 people have been rescued and 179 others are still missing, according to authorities.

As per the report, for the 11,000 evacuees in Wajima City, the 3,000 meals and 5,000 bottles of water that had been given as of Wednesday are not nearly enough, said the city's mayor, Shigeru Sakaguchi.

In a series of aftershocks, nearly 95,000 households, as of Thursday morning, suffered water outages in several parts of Ishikawa due to water pipe damage, according to a UNI report.

Rubble and severed roads added to challenges in search and rescue operations three days after the 7.6-magnitude quake on New Year's Day rocked Ishikawa and nearby areas, setting off tsunami warnings.

The land ministry said areas of at least 100 hectares in Ishikawa were flooded by tsunami waves following Monday's earthquakes, and the true extent of the flooding will likely be larger.

Rescuers are having difficulty reaching the northernmost parts of the peninsula, where a large number of fatalities are located, due to damaged roadways. It is yet unclear how much damage was caused by the earthquake and the ensuing wave, according to the Reuters report.

Ishikawa prefecture authorities report that thirty villages are still inaccessible three days after the tragedy.

Even with the influx of material aid, authorities have noted that many evacuees are still largely without access to food, water, energy, and communication due to the severe weather and low temperatures.

The first 72 hours after earthquakes are especially critical for rescues because the prospects for survival greatly diminish after that, stated a UNI report.
A series of strong earthquakes, with a major one of 7.6 magnitude, struck at a shallow depth in the Noto region of Ishikawa on Monday. The Japan Meteorological Agency has officially named it the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

Centred around 30 km east-northeast of Wajima, the devastating quake registered a maximum intensity of 7, which would make it impossible for people to stand.

(With UNI/Xinhua inputs)