Noto Peninsula Earthquakes Triggered over 100 Landslides; Northern Coastal Areas Roads Bear Brunt of Damage (Update 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:10 JST, January 6, 2024 (updated at 14:35 JST)

More than 100 landslides occurred mainly along coastal areas of the northern Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture after Monday’s powerful earthquake registering a maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale, a tally by The Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources showed Friday.

Many roads have been cut off due to the landslides, making it difficult to get people across and transport relief supplies, as main roads extend through the coastal areas.

Kokusai Kogyo Co., an aerial surveying company based in Tokyo, took images of coastal areas in the cities of Wajima and Suzu in the prefecture on Tuesday and identified the location of landslides, road cave-ins and other damage from the earthquake. The Yomiuri Shimbun obtained such data from the company and compiled the tally.

According to the tally, a total of 99 locations were found to have damage from landslides and collapses of piled-up earth — mainly along coastal roads from Wajima to Suzu — with 62 cases in Wajima, 17 in Suzu, 12 in Nanao and five in Shika. Significant damage to roads was found at 20 locations in Wajima and five in Suzu.

According to analysis by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, multiple landslides have been also confirmed in inland areas, including the mountains in the eastern part of Wajima.

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