Nearly 70 percent of 108 Japanese coastal municipalities at risk of damage from tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake have never conducted drills for operating evacuation centers in the winter, a Kyodo News survey shows.
A major fire that engulfed a historical marketplace in central Japan following the powerful earthquake on New Year's Day may have been caused by damage to electrical wiring, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Volunteer work in central Japan has been stalling over a month since the Noto Peninsula was hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake, with few people permitted to assist each day amid insufficient accommodation facilities and poor road conditions.
Emergency supplies for women, pregnant and nursing mothers, and babies were lacking in many Japanese municipalities, a government study found Sunday, reflecting the effects of an absence of women in official roles.
A city hit hard by a powerful earthquake that jolted central Japan on New Year's Day had a higher rate of old houses than other municipalities, a Kyodo News survey shows, signaling their potential vulnerability in the quake-prone country.