Japan Earthquake: Rescue Op On As Death Toll Reaches 84, PM Kishida Says It's A Race Against Time

The death toll in Japan earthquakes has reached 84, with the clock ticking to find survivors. Rescue teams in Japan searched urgently through rubble on Wednesday in what the prime minister called a race against time after a series of powerful earthquakes hit the country over three days.

Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas were shaken by more aftershocks on Wednesday, adding to the dozens that followed Monday's magnitude 7.6 temblor centred near Noto, about 300 kilometres from Tokyo on the opposite coast.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported earthquakes hitting western Japan's Ishikawa and nearby prefectures shortly after 4 pm (local time) on Monday, with one of them measuring a preliminary magnitude of 7.4-7.6. A tsunami alert was issued for Ishikawa and nearby prefectures of the Japan sea side and huge waves began hitting the coast shortly.

Scary visuals of damaged houses, cracked open roads, and shaking buildings have emerged since then, suggesting that the death toll is expected to go higher. Japanese media reports said tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.

Water, power and cell phone service are also reportedly still down in some areas.

Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Latest Updates:

-Race Against Time, Says PM Kishida: With bitter cold and heavy rain predicted to hamper the rescue operations that have been underway for three days now, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called it a race against time.

“More than 40 hours have passed. This is a race against time, and I feel that we are at a critical moment,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. “We have received reports many people are still waiting for rescue under collapsed buildings.”

Weather forecasts warned of heavy rain in Ishikawa, leading to worries about landslides and further damage to half-crumbled homes. Temperatures were expected to drop to around 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.

-84 Killed in Japan: Rescue operations are underway in earthquake-hit Japan, where officials say 84 people are confirmed dead and many still feared trapped under collapsed houses. Japan's Ishikawa prefecture, where majority of the earthquakes, including the one that measured 7.6, is the worst hit. 

Fifteen people were listed as officially missing and possibly trapped under collapsed buildings.

In Ishikawa prefecture's Wajima city, 25 houses are said to have collapsed while quake-triggered fires have also destroyed about 200 houses, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday. In nearby Suzu City, officials confirmed more than 50 houses have been levelled.

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Japanese media's aerial footage showed widespread damage in the hardest-hit spots, with landslides burying roads, boats tossed in the waters and a fire that had turned an entire section of Wajima city to ashes.

-Thousands Without Electricity: Tens of thousands remain without electricity in Japan, while scores in affected prefectures are also sheltering at evacuation centres. Water supplies in some areas have been cut off, leaving residents to line up to receive drinking water, NHK reported.The quake also triggered mudslides that shut several roads.

Major Aftershock Warning Issued: While casualty numbers continue to climb gradually, officials have warned people over for possible earthquakes with an intensity of seven on the Japanese scale over the next week. The Japanese scale runs from zero to seven, with seven being the strongest. The prompt public warnings relayed on broadcasts and phones, and the quick response from the general public and officials appeared to have limited some of the damage.

The highest-level tsunami alert, which was issued in Japan on Monday, has been lowered but residents of coastal areas have been asked not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come.

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-1,000 Soldiers Deployed: Japan's military has deployed 1,000 soldiers to the disaster zones to join rescue efforts, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday. "Saving lives is our priority and we are fighting a battle against time... It is critical that people trapped in homes get rescued immediately," news agency AP quoted Kishida as saying.

A quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 shook the Ishikawa area as PM Kishida was speaking.

Nuclear Plants Operating Normally: Nuclear regulators have said several nuclear plants in Ishikawa region were operating normally. The massive earthquake and tsunami of 2011 had caused three reactors to melt and release large amounts of radiation at a nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.