Death toll from Japanese quake jumps to 161 as snow hinders relief efforts

Thousands of households remain without power, but situation in evacuation centres is slowly improving.

The death toll from Japan’s New Year’s Day earthquake has jumped to 161 with more than 100 people still missing, and snow complicating relief efforts.

More than 2,000 people remain cut off since the magnitude 7.6 New Year’s Day quake, with thousands of troops, firefighters and police continuing to search collapsed buildings on Monday in the hope of finding survivors.

Authorities warned of the danger of landslides throughout the hard-hit Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, with snow adding to the danger. An estimated 1,000 landslides have already been reported in the area as a result of the quake and wet weather.

About 18,000 households in the Ishikawa region remained without electricity on Monday, while more than 66,100 households were without water on Sunday.

Many of the 28,800 people packed into government shelters, were also without sufficient water, electricity and heating, and sleeping on cold floors.