Tokyo, January 6 (AseanAll)  —The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula and surrounding areas in central Japan on New Year's Day reached 100 Saturday（January 6, 2024） with over 200 still unaccounted for, local authorities said.

According to Japan state news agency KYODO，the magnitude-7.6 quake caused extensive structural damage and fires in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, and city officials in Wajima, one of the hardest hit areas, believe there are about 100 locations where people are still trapped under destroyed buildings and awaiting rescue.

As of Saturday morning, 211 people were unaccounted for in the prefecture as rescuers raced to free survivors from rubble, with rain expected through Sunday（January 7） followed by snow in the region.

Police officers taking part in search and rescue operations sift through rubble in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 6, 2024.  (Kyodo)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told officials from related ministries and agencies in a meeting of the disaster response headquarters at his office to "tenaciously and thoroughly conduct rescue operations to save as many lives as possible."

Authorities are still struggling to deliver relief supplies due to quake damage to roads in Ishikawa, where over 31,000 people remain evacuated at 357 shelters.

Some shelters had limited or no access to running water to flush toilets, causing hygiene and mental health problems.

The Ishikawa prefectural government is planning to build temporary houses for afflicted residents, but construction will not begin until Friday(January 12).

Aftershocks continue to jolt the Noto region, including a magnitude-5.3 quake registering upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale of 7 on Saturday morning.