It is estimated that about 40% of the residents in Wajima City and Suzu City, the two areas with the highest number of casualties from the strong earthquake that occurred on the 1st in the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, have become evacuees.
On the 13th, Kyodo News reported that the number of people staying at evacuation centers set up by Wajima City was 9,524, which accounts for 41% of Wajima City's population (23,192 people) as of early December last year. The number of people staying at evacuation centers in Suzu City was 5,319, about 42% of Suzu City's population of 12,610.
Kyodo News also reported that some residents have evacuated to other shelters, so the actual percentage of evacuees compared to the total population may be even higher.
The total number of earthquake-related deaths counted by Ishikawa Prefecture as of 2 p.m. that day was 220. Among them, 98 deaths occurred in Suzu City and 88 in Wajima City. Additionally, there were 20 deaths in Anamizu and 5 in Nanao City. The total number of injured people is 1,014.
However, the overall damage situation is still not fully understood. The number of residents reported as "missing contact" by Ishikawa Prefecture is 26, with 22 in Wajima City and 4 in Suzu City.
The Japanese government is promoting a plan to relocate evacuees to rental housing in areas outside the Noto Peninsula within Ishikawa Prefecture or in neighboring prefectures such as Toyama, Fukui, and Niigata, as long-term evacuation becomes inevitable.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced at the emergency disaster countermeasures headquarters meeting the previous day that 22,500 rental housing units have been secured.
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