Photo/Illutration Self-Defense Forces members rescue a woman and her family on Jan. 6 in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. They were visiting the woman’s parents when the disaster struck. (Wataru Sekita)

Due to family reunions and holiday tourism, the population in communities devastated by the Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year’s Day was more than 30 percent larger than usual, location data from mobile phones showed.

The temporary swell in population on that national holiday apparently overwhelmed some evacuation centers and led to shortages of supplies.

At noon on Jan. 1, four hours before the magnitude-7.6 quake hit the region, there were a total of 66,000 people in the three municipalities of Noto, Suzu and Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture, according to data released by Agoop Corp., a subsidiary of telecom giant Softbank Corp.

Of those, 19,900 were in Noto, a 50 percent increase compared to the town’s population on Dec. 3, a typical Sunday.

In Suzu, there were 18,500 people, also a 50 percent increase. Meanwhile, Wajima’s population increased by 15 percent to 27,700 on that day.

The holiday visitors came from both inside and outside the prefecture.

In Noto, there were 1,900 people from outside the prefecture, 10 times the usual number. Also, the number of people from other parts of the prefecture was more than three times greater than usual.

Visitors to Suzu from outside the prefecture increased more than sixfold, while those from within the prefecture nearly quadrupled.

In Wajima, people from outside the prefecture tripled, while the number of those from other communities within the prefecture more than doubled.

Related News