News in Pictures / Heavy Rain Devastates Japan’s Earthquake-Hit Noto

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:48 JST, September 24, 2024

Heavy rain poured down on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, already battered by a major earthquake on New Year’s Day. Rivers broke their banks and landslides occurred due to record-breaking rainfall from Saturday, leaving several people dead and others missing.

The Noto Peninsula Earthquake caused extensive damage mainly in the Okunoto region, which includes the cities of Wajima and Suzu, and the towns of Anamizu and Noto. A total of 336 people were killed in these four municipalities, and 25,008 houses were destroyed or damaged. Some of the damaged roofs were still covered with blue sheets as the torrential rain came down.

The quake-damaged home of a 73-year-old woman in Noto flooded after rainwater entered through cracks in the walls. “The area in front of my house was also covered by water; it was like an ocean. Things are as bad as they could get with the earthquake, and then this,” she said.

The fire department received an emergency call in Wajima on Saturday saying a car with a man inside had been swept away. The man managed to escape and was rescued by a boat after being found holding onto a tree and a utility pole. His car is believed to have been caught up in a swollen river.