Woman In Her 90s Rescued Alive 5 Days After Japan's Deadly Earthquake

An elderly woman has been pulled alive from a collapsed house 124 hours after a major earthquake hit Japan, BBC reported. Notably, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the Noto Peninsula on Japan's northwest coast on January 1 just after 4 p.m. locally, killing more than 120 people and injuring many more, according to local officials. Meanwhile, rescue workers are racing against time to search for survivors under collapsed buildings.

On January 6, rescue workers discovered the trapped resident, who is in her 90s, in the wreckage of a two-storey building in the town of Suzu. She had survived for more than five days trapped under the rubble. Though the elderly woman was responsive, she was believed to be suffering from hypothermia. 

She was taken to hospital for treatment and was responding clearly to questions, according to public broadcaster NHK. "Hang in there!" rescuers were heard calling to the woman in police footage from the scene published by local media. "You're gonna be OK!" they shouted as rain fell around them. "Stay positive!"

A Tokyo police spokesman confirmed to AFP that the rescue had been carried out by officers from Tokyo and Fukuoka, but could not give further details.

Rescuers also found a woman in her 40s in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest at the same site.

A day before, a woman in her 80s was also rescued from the ruins of her collapsed home. The elderly resident had been trapped on the first floor of the two-storey house in Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture, according to Sky News. 

The first 72 hours after an earthquake are especially critical, according to experts, and the prospects for survival greatly diminish after three days. Meanwhile, Japan's Self-Defence Forces have doubled the number of troops taking part in rescue and relief to 4,600. Many people are thought to be trapped under their collapsed homes - mostly in the towns of Suzu and Wajima. 

"We will not give up," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after a meeting with disaster response officials on Friday. Mr Kishida urged rescue and relief workers to leave no stone unturned in reaching the affected communities. 

Tens of thousands of Japanese residents are still without power and water, while hundreds remain isolated from help due to landslides and blocked roads. More than 30,000 people in the quake-affected areas are still in shelters, the BBC reported. 

Japan is located in one of the most active seismic regions in the world, with the whole country at risk of being affected by quakes. The country experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year and the vast majority cause no damage. The number of earthquakes in the Noto Peninsula region has been steadily increasing since 2018, a Japanese government report said last year.

The country is haunted by a massive 9.0 magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan in 2011 which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.