Almost 250 people still missing in Japan following earthquake

Rescuers in Japan are hurrying to find 242 people who are missing after a very bad earthquake on New Year’s Day.

A very important 72-hour time to find people alive after the earthquake ended late on Thursday.

On Friday, 92 people died from the strong earthquake in the faraway Noto peninsula.

According to Kyodo news agency, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces increased the number of soldiers helping with rescue and relief to 4,600.

Several people are believed to be stuck under their fallen homes, mostly in the towns of Suzu and Wajima. The buildings made of wood can’t handle strong earthquakes that happen often in this country.

Many people still don’t have electricity and water, and some are stuck because of landslides and blocked roads.

“We will keep trying,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after talking with disaster response officials on Friday.

Mr Kishida asked the rescue and relief workers to do everything they can to help the people in the affected areas.

The earthquake on Monday also caused a small tsunami which flooded at least 296 acres of land in Japan.

Japan said it will use 4. 74 billion yen from its budget to help the victims.

Pictures from the Japan Ground Self Defense Force show soldiers putting food, water, and other supplies onto trucks parked on the road. Soldiers are removing dirt and rubble from roads that were damaged by landslides.

In another picture, soldiers were seen carrying a person on a stretcher along a snowy path.

The BBC saw a lot of damage when they visited Wajima on Wednesday. Some houses and cars were crushed by falling concrete. Several old wooden houses in the town fell down.

The town, which has 23,000 people, looks like a ghost town because most people left when they were told a tsunami might come.