Japan earthquake: Death toll rises to 64 as survivors face rain and landslides

Prime Minister sends 2,000 more military personnel as thousands of homes remain without power

Firefighters search the wreckage of a burned-out marketplace after a large fire caused by earthquakes in Wajima. AP

The death toll from Monday's earthquake in western Japan rose to 64 on Wednesday, as the government doubled the number of rescue personnel sent to speed up rescue operations.

Two days after the quake, the full extent of the damage remains unclear, with Japanese authorities rushing aid to survivors who face freezing temperatures and heavy rain.

The rain forecast has raised fears of landslides, authorities said, in what could hinder efforts to free people trapped beneath the rubble.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government will send 2,000 Self-Defence Force members to help with the rescue efforts, in addition to about 2,000 firefighters and 700 police already there.

“Now is a critical moment,” Mr Kishida told a press conference on Wednesday. “We are doing everything to save lives.”

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  Firefighters search for missing people at the site of a collapsed house in the city of Wajima. AFP

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  A man who lost his house in the earthquake visits the graves of his parents. Reuters

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  People walk past fallen electric pylons and damaged buildings. AFP

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  A rescue dog joins firefighters searching for people in the rubble of a collapsed house. AFP

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  A crushed car in the town of Anamizu. AFP

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  A person looks at the body of a family member retrieved from a collapsed house in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, after a powerful earthquake shook Japan on Monday. AP

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  Rescuers search a house partially destroyed by the quake, in Suzu. AP

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  Japanese military helicopter crew members prepare to transport a Suzu resident injured in the quake. Reuters

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  A man searches a collapsed house following the quake. Officials have warned people to stay away from their homes because of a risk of stronger quakes. AP

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  Firefighters prepare to start search operations at a collapsed building in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture. AP

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  Japanese Self-Defence Force soldiers and rescue workers at a collapsed house caused by an earthquake in Wajima. Reuters

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  An aerial view of damage from the earthquake at the port in Suzu, central Japan. At least 48 people were killed and 107 injured, according to local authorities. EPA

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  Smoke rises from the site of a fire caused by an earthquake in Wajima, in Japan's Ishikawa prefecture. AP

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  A car stuck in a crack in the road near Ujima, Ishikawa prefecture. Reuters

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  A toppled building after the earthquake. AP

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  A car in Nanao, Ishikawa prefecture, crushed beneath a building after the earthquake. Bloomberg

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  People receive water packs at the town hall in Shika, Ishikawa prefecture. AFP

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  A fire rages in Wajima after the quake. AP

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  Supermarket customers during the earthquake in Toyama, Japan. AP

At least 26 of the quake victims are seriously injured while 130 are in need of rescue, including some trapped beneath collapsed buildings, Mr Kishida said.

Hundreds of people lined up for freshwater at evacuation centres after the quake knocked out essential services.

About 35,000 homes in Ishikawa remained without power as of 6.40am, according to local utility Hokuriku Electric Power.

In Suzu, a town of about 5,000 households near the quake's epicentre, authorities were unable to respond to 72 calls for help, said its mayor Masuhiro Izumiya.

Mr Kishida said the government opened a sea route to deliver aid and some lorries were now able to reach some of the hardest-hit areas.

Smaller quakes continue to hit the peninsula. Firefighters searching for survivors in the rubble of a partially collapsed building were seen rushing out as an earthquake warning sounded before noon on Wednesday, according to video broadcast by public broadcaster NHK.

A commercial airliner caught fire on Tuesday at Tokyo’s Haneda airport after colliding on the runway with a coastguard aircraft packed with emergency supplies set to be delivered to quake victims.

Five of the six coastguard crew members on the aid flight were killed.

The accident has not had a logistical impact on rescue operations, Mr Kishida said.

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  Officials inspect the wreckage of a Japan Airlines passenger plane at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda in Tokyo, the morning after it hit a coastguard plane on the ground. AFP

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  Investigators sift through the remains of a coastguard plane after a collision with Japan Airlines' Airbus A350 at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Reuters

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  The burnt Japan Airlines' Airbus A350 plane. Reuters

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  Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks about the incident. EPA

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  The Japan Airlines plane burns on the runway in Tokyo. AP

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  Passengers mask up as smoke fills the Japan Airlines plane after it collided with a coastguard aircraft on the ground at Tokyo's Haneda airport. Reuters

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  People sit in the smoke inside the Japan Airlines' A350. Reuters

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  The Japan Airlines plane burns out on the runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. AP

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  The Japan Airlines plane burns on the runway at Haneda Airport. AP