Elderly Woman Found Alive in Japan Quake Debris
07.01.2024 posted by Admin
An old woman in her 90s was rescued from the remains of a tall house after a strong earthquake hit Japan. It took more than five days, but rescuers found her in Suzu City, Ishikawa prefecture, on a Saturday evening – that's 124 hours after the earthquake happened. Japan’s NHK reported that they took her to a hospital nearby.
A doctor who spoke to reporters on Sunday said that she's able to talk, but her legs got hurt during the ordeal.
One of the rescue team members, Kume Takanori, mentioned to NHK that the woman was stuck with her knees under furniture in a really small space between the first and second floors. It was a long process to get her out, Takanori said.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.5, hit central Japan on January 1, setting off tsunami warnings as far as eastern Russia. Coastal residents had to leave their homes because buildings and roads collapsed. Many buildings burned down too.
Japanese authorities reported at least 126 people dead by Saturday.
During the first 72 hours after a natural disaster, it's super important for search and rescue missions. Experts say this time is the best chance to find people alive because those trapped might get worse really fast.
Rescue teams have been racing against time to free people trapped in the debris.
We still don't know how bad everything is, but more than 200 people are missing, say Japanese officials. They're still looking for survivors in Ishikawa.
NHK said that lots of roads are still blocked, making it hard for emergency crews and vehicles to get to survivors.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, mentioned in a statement on X that they'll have limits on traffic in the earthquake area starting Sunday. They won't allow vehicles into those places so the ones helping in the recovery can move freely.
A doctor who spoke to reporters on Sunday said that she's able to talk, but her legs got hurt during the ordeal.
One of the rescue team members, Kume Takanori, mentioned to NHK that the woman was stuck with her knees under furniture in a really small space between the first and second floors. It was a long process to get her out, Takanori said.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.5, hit central Japan on January 1, setting off tsunami warnings as far as eastern Russia. Coastal residents had to leave their homes because buildings and roads collapsed. Many buildings burned down too.
Japanese authorities reported at least 126 people dead by Saturday.
During the first 72 hours after a natural disaster, it's super important for search and rescue missions. Experts say this time is the best chance to find people alive because those trapped might get worse really fast.
Rescue teams have been racing against time to free people trapped in the debris.
We still don't know how bad everything is, but more than 200 people are missing, say Japanese officials. They're still looking for survivors in Ishikawa.
NHK said that lots of roads are still blocked, making it hard for emergency crews and vehicles to get to survivors.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, mentioned in a statement on X that they'll have limits on traffic in the earthquake area starting Sunday. They won't allow vehicles into those places so the ones helping in the recovery can move freely.