Rescuers pulled a woman in her 80’s from under a collapsed home in the town of Wajima in Western Japan, reports the BBC.
Video from NHK showed her being lifted out of her home. At least 82 people have been killed in the New Year’s Day quake with the window for finding survivors closing on the remote Noto peninsula.
Minae Akiyama who was in the area from Southern Japan to visit her mother for the holidays described the moment the quake hit.
“Thinking about it now still makes me tremble. My heart was pounding, my mind went blank, we just scrambled,” she told CNN. “I feel like, even now, the building is shaking,” Akiyama said. “Whenever an aftershock happens, I think of the main quake and my body trembles.”
She eventually ran outside unharmed with many items in her home strewn all over the floor and cabinets tipped over.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida fears there are still many victims underneath the rubble.
“We will use all of our efforts to rescue as many people as possible by this evening, when 72 hours will pass since the disaster,” he said, reported Reuters.
That 72-hour window has since closed.
The Japan-America Society of Hawaii is working with the Japanese Consulate to send more rescue crews to Japan, reported Island News. The group is also pledging to help with rebuilding efforts.
“Japan provided funding and aid when the Lahaina wildfires struck and we want the people of Japan to know Hawaii will do the same for them,” said JASH President Reyna Kaneko.
The U.S. Japan Council urged anyone who wanted to donate to rebuilding efforts to do so through Global Giving.
“We mourn the lives lost and express our deepest sympathy to those impacted by this tragedy. We stand in solidarity with the people of Japan, and we pledge our unwavering support as the country races to rescue survivors and rebuild communities,” the group said in a statement sent to AsAmNews.
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