Photo/Illutration Firefighters continue their search-and-rescue operation at a burned down “asaichi” (morning market) site covered by snow on Jan. 8 in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. (Wataru Sekita)

The death toll from the New Year’s Day earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture climbed to 168 on Jan. 8 as rescue efforts struggled and concerns grew about conditions in evacuation centers.

The number of confirmed deaths, as of 2 p.m., was up from 128 on the afternoon of Jan. 7. Prefectural officials said the additional deaths included 32 in the hard-hit city of Suzu.

The officials said up to 323 people were missing.

Jan. 8 marked a week since the magnitude-7.6 earthquake and tsunami devastated the Noto region in the prefecture, and the full extent of the damage is still unknown.

Although work on restoring damaged roads has gradually progressed, rescue workers are still facing an uphill battle in reaching areas in need.

Aftershocks have continued to shake the Noto Peninsula, hampering search-and-rescue efforts at collapsed buildings.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, nine quakes with intensities of upper 5 or higher on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 have been recorded since Jan. 1.

In Suzu, the tsunami swamped coastal areas already damaged by the intensity-7 earthquake on Jan. 1. Many of the new missing persons reports came from Wajima, where a quake-triggered fire destroyed a residential area.

Many local government employees of the two cities were also affected in the disaster, leading to delays in confirming the extent of the damage and providing information about which areas are most in need of support.

Thousands of people have sought shelter in evacuation centers, and concerns are rising about their physical and mental health.

Water has been cut off in almost all areas of three cities and four towns in the prefecture, including Wajima and Suzu.

Residents and evacuees in many of these municipalities have been unable to dispose of their garbage and excrement.

About 20,700 households in Ishikawa Prefecture are still without power.

The weather has also hurt efforts.

Cold air has flowed into the prefecture and snow started falling in disaster areas on Jan. 7.

The JMA has urged quake victims to prepare for a sudden drop in temperature.

Ishikawa Prefecture is moving forward with transporting disaster victims away from the worsening sanitary conditions.

Ishikawa Governor Hiroshi Hase announced plans to move about 500 evacuees to the prefectural capital of Kanazawa starting on Jan. 8, giving priority to elderly people and those in need of assistance.

The snow, however, could delay that effort.

In Wajima, city officials were scheduled to transfer three needy residents to a prefectural government-run evacuation center in Kanazawa on Jan. 8.

But the officials said the move was postponed because of the snow.

At the central government’s emergency disaster control headquarters meeting on Jan. 8, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will designate the Noto Peninsula earthquake as a “severe disaster.”

He said special measures, such as an increase in the government subsidy rate, will be applied to restoration projects carried out by local governments with no limits on area.

(This article was compiled from stories written by Shinichi Kawarada and others.)