Photo/Illutration Collapsed houses in Suzu, a coastal city in Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 2 (Taku Hosokawa)

SUZU, Ishikawa Prefecture--Homes and buildings in this earthquake-devastated city had already been weakened by previous seismic activity.

Many residents in the damaged homes were waiting for repair work when the Jan. 1 quake rocked the Noto Peninsula, reducing sections of the city to rubble.

Since the end of 2020, the area has experienced at least 506 earthquakes perceptible to humans.

In June 2022, the city was hit by a major earthquake with an intensity of 6 on the Japanese seismic scale.

Another temblor of similar intensity struck in May 2023, destroying 38 buildings, seriously damaging 263, and partially damaging 1,355 in Suzu.

City officials made emergency assessments of the level of danger at individual sites, pinning notes on houses that said: “Dangerous. Do not enter” and “Caution required when entering.”

But some residents continued to live in the damaged houses.

A 69-year-old man who returned to his hometown of Suzu for the New Year’s holidays said the Jan. 1 quake caused major damage to the concrete foundation of his family’s house, but the family was safe.

The two-story wooden house is over 60 years old and was judged to be “semi-demolished” after the May quake. A “caution” note had been affixed to the home.

The house was only partially repaired, and cracks in the walls were left untouched.

“I am a part-time worker living on a pension and couldn’t afford to rebuild,” the man said.

There was also a “waiting list” for repairs to houses damaged in the May quake.

A 47-year-old female company employee who lives in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, called for help on social networking sites after her relative’s house in Suzu collapsed and several people were trapped inside.

She said the foundation of her relative’s house was damaged by the May quake.

Her relative requested reinforcement work, but the contractor said, “Your damage is moderate, and we will work on more damaged houses first.”

Suzu, a city with about 6,000 households, appears to be one of the hardest hit areas by the Jan. 1 quake, which reached a maximum 7 on the seismic scale.

“There are almost no houses left standing,” Suzu Mayor Masuhiro Izumiya said on the evening of Jan. 2 during a meeting of the Ishikawa prefectural disaster response headquarters. “Ninety percent of them are completely or nearly destroyed.”

City officials have been busy writing bits and pieces of information and locations on a white board, such as “Many buried alive” and “Two children under the floor.”

Roads to the disaster areas have been cut off and stricken communities are isolated throughout the city. Rescue workers have struggled to reach all those affected by the disaster.

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