Japon : l'armée au secours des victimes du séisme d'Hokkaido

10/09/2018

The death toll from the magnitude-6.7 earthquake that struck Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido on Thursday has risen to 42 with the town of Atsuma bearing the brunt of the disaster. Atsuma, one of the hardest-hit areas by the quake, is a town in mourning after the earthquake triggered landslides that caused large sections of mountain slopes to collapse engulfing houses where occupants were sleeping. One person in the town is still missing, the Japanese government said Sunday. After Tomoko Hiraga learned that people had died in Atsuma, she traveled to Atsuma hoping that her friend was not one of them. "He treated me like one of his daughters. He would take me out to eat. He even helped me when I moved from Atsuma to Sapporo," Hiraga said. Unfortunately for Hiraga, her friend was one of the many who were buried alive in the landslides. The Japanese government's response to the earthquake, particularly in Atsuma, was swift. Thousands of search and rescue workers were deployed in the immediate aftermath. "Soldiers, police, and firefighters worked round the clock in the first 72 hours after the disaster. With the help from all walks of life, we will do our best to do the post-earthquake work," said Hideyuki Ootsubo, a town administrator. More than 650 others were injured in the quake that struck early Thursday, according to the Japanese government.