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Japan earthquake death toll 35 as thousands continue to sleep in shelters and in the airport

Sixteen-thousand fill up shelters in Japan on the THIRD DAY after killer earthquake as homes lay destroyed, 20,000 have no power and 30,000 no water supply while death toll rises to 35 and airport is hit with massive backlog of flights

The government will release emergency funds to deliver food, water and fuel for hospital power generators

Thousands of people are still sleeping in shelters following Thursday's 6.6-magnitude earthquake

Rescue workers with bulldozers and sniffer dogs are scouring through solidified mud to find more survivors

By Debbie White For Mailonline and Afp and Ap

Published: 23:42 EDT, 7 September 2018 | Updated: 08:40 EDT, 8 September 2018

About 16,000 people remain in emergency shelters in northern Japan three days after they were forced to flee their homes on Hokkaido island when the region was rocked by a killer 6.6-magnitude earthquake.

Passengers have been forced to sleep on the terminal floor at the prefecture's main airport after Thursday's quake caused chaos as debris fell inside buildings, and flights were suspended after a power outage.

As the death toll climbed to 35, and tens of thousands of rescue workers continue searching through rubble, collapsed buildings and solid mud for survivors, 31,000 households still have no water, and 20,000 homes are without power.

Dozens of aftershocks have hit the area since the earthquake struck the Hokkaido prefecture three days ago –which saw a northern hamlet buried by landslides – including one with a magnitude of 5.4, said the Japan Meteorological Agency.

School gymnasiums have helped provide emergency shelter for residents who cannot as yet return to their homes because they have been destroyed, are unsafe, or they have no power or water.

Rescuers search for missing people at the site of a landslide triggered by Thursday's earthquake in Atsuma, Hokkaido, northern Japan. Japanese rescue workers and troops are searching for the missing for a third straight day in a northern hamlet buried by landslides from the powerful earthquake

Thousands of people have spent several nights in shelters following the quake - the latest in a string of natural disasters to batter the country

Local residents find shelter at a school gymnasium in Abira, Hokkaido, northern Japan. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a strong earthquake jolted Japan's northern island of Hokkaido early on September 6, causing large landslides, a blackout over the entire region, which affected almost 3 million households

Residents sleep on the floor of an emergency evacuation centre on the third day after a massive landslide destroyed homes and killed 35 people in Atsuma

Earthquake evacuees are seen at the gymnasium of an elementary school, acting as an evacuation shelter, during a power blackout after an earthquake hit the area in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan

Stranded passengers queue up in lines to wait for their flights at New Chitose Airport, Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan. The regional airport was beginning to resume operations after hundreds of flights had been cancelled, stranding thousands of travellers, due to Thursday's power outage and light quake damage

The Hokkaido government had said earlier today that 30 people are dead or presumed dead and nine remain missing – up from yesterday's death toll of 18. But in a further update, public broadcaster NHK said that 35 are dead.

All but three of the victims are residents of the town of Atsuma, where landslides destoyed and buried houses at the foot of steep forested hills that overlook rice fields.

After more than a day of digging there were no reports of survivors being pulled from their crushed homes in the outskirts of the town of Atsuma, not far from the quake's epicenter. Five people still remain unaccounted for in the town.

Tourists from South Korea and China have finally been able to head home from New Chitose Airport, outside of Sapporo. About 1,600 people spent the previous night at the airport (above), according to Japanese media reports. Domestic flights resumed yesterday

It's a tough task for police officers and fire fighters as they search through collapsed structures for missing people following a large landslide in Atsuma, Hokkaido, northern Japan

Japan's Ground Self-Defense's personnel with a rescue dog work at a large landslide site in the Yoshino district of Atsuma

About 600 people sustained minor injuries, according to the local government of the northern Hokkaido island.

Rescue workers with bulldozers and sniffer dogs have been scrabbling through solidified mud to find more survivors.

'We never had landslides here,' said Akira Matsushita who lost his brother in Atsuma, a seaside community of about 4,600 that advertises itself as a destination for surfing and a great lifestyle.

'I couldn't believe until I saw it with my own eyes,' he told TV Asahi. 'When I saw it, I knew no one could survive.'

Most residents in Atsuma have sought meals, water and shelter at the local social services office.

'There are no supplies, so the shop simply cannot function. It's tough,' said Yasuhiro Kurosaki, a young father whose wife was cradling their infant son outside the small supermarket owned by his father.

Shelves inside the darkened shop were bare aside from a few boxes of potato chips.

A boy carries a pack of water that he received at a shelter in Atsuma, Hokkaido, northern Japan Saturday, September 8, three days after a powerful earthquake knocked out power to the entire island of 5.4 million people, swamped parts of a neighbourhood in the main city of Sapporo in deep mud and triggered destructive landslides

Rescue teams continue searching through a large landslide site in the Yoshino district of Atsuma, after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake killed 30 people

Further inland, unharvested rice fields stretched before a long expanse of hillside that had collapsed all at once, bringing earth and timber down on homes that had been tucked along the edge of the mountain.

Some 40,000 rescue workers, including Self-Defense Forces drafted in specially, are continuing the search for survivors with the aid of bulldozers, sniffer dogs and 75 helicopters, according to the top government spokesman.

'They're doing their best around the clock,' Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

Workers remove the mud caused by ground liquefaction from a street after a powerful earthquake in Kiyota ward of Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Saturday. Thursday's powerful earthquake hit wide areas on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido. Some parts of the city were severely damaged, with houses left tilting and roads crumbled or sank

A worker walks past cars half buried in mud caused by ground liquefaction after a powerful earthquake in Kiyota ward of Sapporo, Hokkaido

A worker removes heavy debris from a damaged street as a vehicle half buried in mud can be seen behind him in the street

All three million households on Hokkaido island lost power when Thursday's quake damaged a thermal plant supplying electricity to the region, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said power was mostly restored.

'Thanks to hard work to boost power supply throughout the night, the number of households without power has declined to 20,000,' Abe told a cabinet meeting to discuss the quake.

The return of electricity came as a huge relief for residents. About half of Hokkaido got power back on Friday, and all but 20,000 households had power this morning.

'It was a relief that it was back yesterday evening, but it feels it took time,' said 66-year-old Sapporo resident Tatsuo Kimura, adding that the blackout was a reminder 'of how important electric power is in our life.'

The Prime Minister, who will meet quake survivors in Hokkaido on Sunday, said that the government would release emergency funds to deliver food, water and fuel needed for power generators at hospitals.

Residents bring out their belongings from an earthquake-damaged house in Kiyota ward of Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Saturday, September 8, 2018

International flights at the main airport in Sapporo resumed operations on Saturday, while bullet trains began service the day before. Above: stranded passengers wait for flights to start at New Chitose Airport

Passengers crowd around the terminal as they check-in at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido prefecture after a powerful 6.6-magnitude quake rocked the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on September 6

The earthquake also collapsed a handful of houses and walls in the main regional city of Sapporo but considering the strength of the quake, the death toll was relatively light, with the majority of victims coming from the landslide in Atsuma.

International flights at the main airport in the regional capital of Sapporo, the New Chitose Airport, resumed operations on Saturday, while bullet trains began service the day before.

Tourists from South Korea and China were able to head home from New Chitose Airport, outside of Sapporo. About 1,600 people spent the previous night at the airport, according to Japanese media reports.

Japan’s transport ministry said that about 90 international flights were scheduled to depart from and arrive at New Chitose Airport, which is the main gateway to Japan’s quake-hit Hokkaido prefecture, reports xinhuanet.

Hokkaido has become a popular destination for tourists from other parts of Asia.

Some parts of Sapporo were severely damaged, with houses left tilting and roads crumbled or sunken. A mudslide left several cars half buried, and the ground subsided in some areas, leaving drainpipes and manhole covers protruding by more than a meter (yard) in some places.

'This is shocking. I was always walking on this street and I had never imagined this road could collapse in such a way,' said resident Noriyuki Sumi. 'But, if you think positively, imagine if I was walking here when this took place. I might have lost my life. So, I try to think I am lucky in this unfortunate situation.'

Toyota Motor Corp. announced that it would suspend nearly all its production in Japan on Monday. Toyota makes transmissions and other parts in Hokkaido and also has suppliers on what is the northernmost of Japan's four main islands.

Rescue operations continued throughout Friday night, as personnel shone bright lights on to mud-caked areas to find survivors

A road damaged by the earthquake is seen in Abira town, Hokkaido prefecture. The quake was the latest in a string of natural disasters to batter the country

Above, weary-looking residents who had to evacuate from their homes are seen here eating their dinner while at a shelter in Atsuma town, Hokkaido prefecture

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said it would take at least a week to fully restore power to all communities due to damage at a thermal power plant at Tomato-Atsuma that supplies half of Hokkaido's electricity.

'We're trying to do it faster, but it will likely take a week,' Seko said. He urged residents to conserve power.

The quake was the latest in a string of natural disasters to batter the country.

Western parts of the country are still recovering from the most powerful typhoon to strike Japan in a quarter of a century, which claimed 11 lives and shut down the main regional airport.

Japan sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' where many of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

On March 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

Aerial view of houses damaged by a landslide in Atsuma town, Hokkaido prefecture on September 6, 2018, after an earthquake hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, triggering landslides and bringing down several houses

Residents look at the damage caused by the earthquake to a road in Sapporo. Japan sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' where many of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded

One of the many homes damaged by landslides following last Thursday's earthquake, which was 6.6-magnitude

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/japan/article-6145357/Japan-toll-rises-30-powerful-quake.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490

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