Earthquakes in Japan kill at least 48 as officials race to save people trapped in homes

Fox News

At least 48 people have been reported dead amid the ongoing earthquakes in Japan that began on Monday.

Quakes continue to shake Ishikawa prefecture following the 7.6-magnitude disaster that struck the west coast of the island on New Year’s Day, prompting evacuations and emergency response.

“There is probably no people on earth other than Japanese who are so disaster-ready,” University of Tokyo professor Toshitaka Katada told The Associated Press.

“This is far from over,” he added. “Having too much confidence in the power of science is very dangerous. We are dealing with nature.”

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Disaster response officials reported that an additional 16 people have been seriously injured in the natural disasters, along with extensive damage to commercial and residential structures.

Authorities have not yet been able to total the cost of damages done to homes.

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The meteorological agency initially issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the western coast of Honshu, as well as for the northernmost of the country’s main islands, Hokkaido.

The warning was downgraded to a regular tsunami several hours later, meaning the sea could still generate waves of up to 10 feet.

Aftershocks could also slam the same area over the next few days, the agency said.

“Saving lives is our priority and we are fighting a battle against time,” said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

He added, “It is critical that people trapped in homes get rescued immediately.”

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

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