Hundreds of residents of the small Japanese town of Shika line up in front of the city hall on Tuesday awaiting reception six liters of water allocated to each person after the powerful earthquake that shook the country on New Year’s Day.

Tsugumasa Mihara, 73, says so He can’t remember experiencing anything similar. This resident of Shika, located in Ishikawa Prefecture, was taking a nap when a “strong earthquake” woke him up at 4:10 PM (07:10 GMT) on Monday.

“I felt helpless (…). All I could do was pray that it would end soon“, he tells AFP.

Total, about 150 earthquakes shaking Japan between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. The strongest reached a magnitude of 7.6This was reported by the Japan Meteorological Agency JMA. The damage to Tsugumasa Mihara’s home was minor: just a few broken dishes on the kitchen floor. And unlike many other residents, there is electricity.

But the problem, he explains, is water, as the drinking water network of Shika, as well as many other towns on the Noto Peninsula, has been damaged. Many other residents of the peninsula were less fortunate. As a result of the shaking, several buildings and houses collapsed. The latest provisional death toll published on Tuesday was 50 deaths.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Japan killed at least 48 people; Search and rescue operations continue

‘Go ahead’

In Wajima, a coastal town 60 km north of Shika, An entire neighborhood of wooden houses was destroyed by flames. On this rural peninsula, wedged between mountains and sea, access for emergency services is difficult everywhere due to damaged, collapsed or blocked roads due to landslides.

There is an unusual calm in the streets of the cities frequented by the journalists AFPwhich many also saw Vehicles got stuck in cracks in the asphalt.

Residents also line up in front of supermarkets to stock up on groceries., although some businesses are closed due to a lack of supplies. “We are closed today. We are evacuating,” reads a sign at the entrance to one of these buildings. In some places, workers are already busy closing the cracks and facilitating the passage of firefighters, the army – which was called in for reinforcement – and the police.

Plane crashes and catches fire on Japanese airport runway

In front of the Shika town hall, Yuko, a 58-year-old woman, is also waiting for water, handed out by an official in a blue uniform and mask. “We need water”says to the AFP. “An event like this reminds us how essential water is,” he emphasizes.

“I was sitting in my house, on the first floor, watching television when the earthquake happened. “I feared for my life,” the woman said. The way 2024 started “will be forever etched in my memory,” said another 46-year-old woman, Akiko, who was visiting her parents in Wajima with her children to celebrate the end of the year.

Since the earthquake, the entire family has been sleeping outside their parents’ wooden house, which was leaning. And Akiko can’t go home right now because the roads are blocked. But Akiko remains positive. “Now that we have seen the worst (…) we must move on.” (JO)