At least thirty people died as a series of earthquakes struck central Japan on New Year's Day, damaging homes and sparking a major fire. The scale of the damage from the 155 quakes was still emerging, with news footage showing toppled buildings, sunken boats at a port, countless charred homes, and locals without power in freezing overnight temperatures.
Footage shared on social media showed road signs and display boards at railway stations shaking after one of the earthquakes, which had a magnitude of 7.6.
Japan has dropped its highest-level tsunami alert, but is telling residents of coastal areas not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come.
Thousands of army personnel, firefighters and police officers from across the country have been dispatched to the worst-hit area in the relatively remote Noto peninsula.
However, rescue efforts have been hindered by badly damaged and blocked roads and one of the area's airports has been forced to close due to runway cracks.
Featured Video Of The Day
48 Soldiers Killed In Action In J&K In 32 Months. Timeline Of Major Attacks
Japanese AI Startup Turns Dating AI Into Reality Japanese Political Candidate Strips In Video To Win Votes, Asks Viewers If She's ''Sexy'' Watch: People Gather In Middle Of Road As 4.2 Earthquake Strikes Kashmir Under-Fire Trainee IAS Officer Accuses Pune Collector Of Harassment Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Recalled To Academy, Training Put On Hold What Trump Rally Shooter Did On Last Day Of His Life 25-Year-Old Fitness Influencer Bullied Online For Looking "Super Old" Andrew Tate Banned From Leaving Romania Amid Human Trafficking Trial: Court "No Defamatory Remarks Against Governor": High Court To Mamata Banerjee Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.