Series of earthquakes in Japan leave at least 48 dead

a A series of about 140 earthquakes The typhoon that struck Japan on Monday (January 1) killed at least 48 people in Ishikawa Prefecture, located on the Noto Peninsula, in the country's western coastal region. The strongest tremor was recorded with a magnitude of 7.6.

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According to what was reported by the public television network NHKMost of the victims were concentrated in the cities of Wajima and Suzu. The Japanese press reports that tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed.

The country's Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, deployed 1,000 military personnel to assist rescue teams in the areas most affected by the earthquakes.

"Salvar vidas é nossa prioridade e estamos lutando uma batalha contra o tempo. É crítico que pessoas presas em suas casas sejam resgatadas imediatamente", declarou. Kishida também relatou que equipes têm encontrado dificuldade para acessar áreas ao norte de Noto por terra. O governo coordena envio de ajuda por navio.

In Wajima, fires affected more than 200 buildings, and there are reports of dozens of people trapped under the rubble. The tremors also left injuries and caused damage in Fukui, Gifu, Niigata and Toyama prefectures.

See pictures of the damage caused by the earthquakes in the city of Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa:

On Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning of the risk of a “major tsunami” in the Ishikawa area. Warnings were also issued of possible waves on the rest of the coast of the islands of Honshu, the country's largest island in terms of population, and Hokkaido to the north.

The agency initially reported waves reaching 5 metres. Subsequently, the measurement was adjusted to 3 metres. Some areas were affected by waves exceeding a meter in height.

No new alerts were issued this Tuesday.