‘It will take years to rebuild’: Villagers pick up the pieces after devastating Japan earthquake
The roads that snake up the Noto peninsular get worse the further we drive.
What starts as a few small, irregular cracks turn into sizeable craters and fissures. In some places the concrete has totally buckled, making the route impassable.
It is no wonder rescue efforts have been rendered so complicated, and the full scale of the damage and casualties is still extremely unclear.
Indeed, some of the worst-hit areas remain almost inaccessible unless you have an army truck, or better a helicopter.
But you don’t need to be at the epicentre of this disaster to clearly see the destruction it has wrought.
That is plainly evident in village after village we pass.
Entire streets of old traditional houses are damaged or destroyed in the village of Kuroshima
Some of the worst-hit areas remain almost inaccessible
In one, entire streets of old traditional houses are, at best, damaged beyond what’s habitable, surrounded by shattered glass and fallen beams and, at worst, have completely collapsed.
There are clues in the rubble as to the traditional lives uprooted here.
In one destroyed home, wicker baskets lie scattered atop the fallen wooden walls, reinforced with just clay.
A lot might have been said about how good Japanese infrastructure is in the face of such quakes, but these homes didn’t stand a chance.
It’s here we meet Mamiko Nakatani. She is taking shelter in the village hall.
She takes us to her home – it’s been in her family for 45 years. It’s still standing, but only just and the damage is shocking.
Ceilings collapsed, windows smashed, and her broken possessions cover the floor.
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Japan earthquake shakes drinks
She described how, when the quake hit, her huge bookshelves collapsed right on top of her elderly husband.
It’s a miracle he was unhurt, she says.
And when I ask her how it feels to look at the devastation – “I’m at a loss,” she says, with tears in her eyes.
“It will take years to rebuild.”
It’s clear the danger isn’t over. Every so often we hear a deep rumble and the ground moves a little beneath us – tremors continuing.
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Back in the car, our phones sound with alarm warnings of further quakes expected.
Eventually, we reach a point where we can go no further. Landslides and trees block the roads and fissures in the concrete are too large for us to cross.
At one such blocking, we meet Takuya Yamagishi who is being picked up by car. He is shivering, his clothes and hair are soaked through and his feet are cracked with mud.
He has walked for over five hours in the cold and rain from his grandparent’s village near Wajima to meet others and fetch help.
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Scale of Japan quake damage becomes clearer
He couldn’t get here any other way, the roads are impassable by car.
He tells us the village has limited supplies, water and power are cut, and many people have been left homeless. He looks like he’s in shock.
Indeed, 33,000 people have had to evacuate their homes, and lots of people remain without water or electricity.
“Even those who narrowly escaped death cannot survive without food and water,” says Masuhiro Izumiya, the mayor of Suku – one of the worst affected towns.
Other local leaders have implied help has been too slow and have urged the government to hurry to clear the roads.
At a roadside hub for rescue and relief workers, there are dozens of people and trucks. They are preparing to work through the night.
Kenji Kamei is one of many who has been sent here from a neighbouring province.
A roadside hub has been set up for rescue and relief workers
He shows us the saws used to cut people out of rubble, but adds sadly the only people still being retrieved now are the dead.
It is still very unclear how many more bodies he will have to pull from their homes, but the plight of survivors continues.
It is bitterly cold and heavy rain today has increased the risk of landslides. There is a lot more suffering ahead for the people of this region.
On Friday, Paola Paiva waited in a hotel near Caracas airport, nervous but giddy with excitement to be reunited with her brother, finally.
For five months, Arturo Suarez has been detained in a notorious prison in El Salvador.
“I am going to wait for my brother to call me,” she told Sky News, “and after giving him a hug, I want to just listen to him, listen to his voice. Let him talk and tell us his story.”
Suarez was one of the more than 250 Venezuelan migrants who had been living in America but were arrested in immigration raids by the Trump administration and sent to El Salvador, a showpiece act in the president’s promise to deport millions of migrants.
Paola Paiva holds a vigil for brother Arturo Suarez. Pic: Reuters
Most of the men had never even been to El Salvador before. Their detention has been controversial because the White House claims the men are all part of the dangerous Tren de Aragua gang but has provided little evidence to support this assertion.
The only evidence Paola had that Suarez was still alive was a picture of him published on a news website showing the inside of the maximum security CECOT jail.
He is one of dozens of men with their hands and feet cuffed, heads shaved and bodies shackled together.
Now he is returning to his home country, one of the bargaining chips in a deal that saw the release of ten Americans and US permanent residents who had been seized by the Venezuelan authorities.
Venezuelans arrive back in home country after being detained in El Salvador
Paola had tried to go to the airport to greet her brother as he disembarked a charter plane bringing the men back from El Salvador but authorities told her to wait at a nearby hotel.
“They told us they are taking them all to a hotel to rest,” she said.
“But I managed to get someone to give my phone number on a piece of paper to my brother, so I am expecting his call tomorrow, as soon as he can access a phone.
“We heard they are going to perform some medical exams on them and check their criminal records,” she added. “I’m not afraid; I’m not worried since my brother has a clean record.
“I am so happy. I knew this day would happen, and that it would be unexpected, that no one was going to notify us. I knew it was going to be a total surprise.”
US citizens released from Venezuela. Pic: Reuters
The Trump administration had paid the El Salvador government, led by President Nayib Bukele, millions of dollars to imprison the men.
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem visited CECOT last month, posing in front of prisoners for a photo opportunity.
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But Cristosal, an international human rights group based in El Salvador, says it has “documented systematic physical beatings, torture, intentional denial of access to food, water, clothing, health care,” inside the prison.
A video which was seemingly filmed aboard the charter flight bringing the Venezuelan migrants back to Caracas shows Arturo briefly talking about his experience inside.
He looks physically well but speaks into the camera and says: “We were four months with no communication, no phone calls, kidnapped, we didn’t know what (the) day was, not even the time.
“We were beat up at breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he continues.
Sky News interviewed Arturo Suarez‘s brother Nelson near his home in the US in April, weeks after Arturo – an aspiring singer – had been arrested by immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agents while filming a music video inside a house.
Nelson said he believed Arturo’s only crime was “being Venezuelan and having tattoos.” He showed me documents that indicate Arturo has no criminal record in Venezuela, Chile, Colombia or the United States, the four countries he has lived in.
Now Nelson is delighted Arturo is being released – but worries for his future.
“The only thing that casts a shadow in such a moment of joy is that bit of anger when I think that all the governments involved are going to use my brother’s story, and the others on that flight, as political gain,” he said.
“Each of them will tell a different story, making themselves the heroes, when the reality is that many innocent people suffered unfairly and unnecessarily, and many families will remain separated after this incident due to politics, immigration and fear.”
At least 34 people have died after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam, according to state media reports.
The Wonder Sea boat was reportedly carrying 53 people, including five crew members, when it capsized due to strong winds in Ha Long Bay on Saturday.
It happened at roughly 2pm local time (7am GMT). Rescue teams have found 11 survivors and recovered 34 bodies, eight of them children, the state-run Vietnam News Agency said, citing local authorities.
Rescuer in Ha Long Bay are searching for survivors. Pic: QDND via AP
The People’s Army Newspaper, which cited local border guards, said authorities have not yet confirmed details about the tourists, including their nationalities, as the rescue operation continues.
Most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children, from the country’s capital city, Hanoi, the newspaper said.
The incident comes shortly after the arrival of Storm Wipha in the South China Sea, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and lightning to the area.
A body being carried on stretcher after a tourist boat capsized in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. Pic: QDND via AP
The named storm is the third typhoon to hit the South China Sea this year, and is expected to make landfall along the northern coast of Vietnam early next week.
Disruptions linked to the storm have also had an impact on air travel, according to Noi Bai Airport.
The airport reported that nine incoming flights were diverted to other airports, while three outgoing flights were temporarily grounded due to adverse weather conditions.
Tourist boats cruise in Halong Bay. File pic: Reuters
The winds brought by Storm Wipha reached up to 63mph (101kmph) and gusts of up to 68mph (126kmph) as it passed south of Taiwan on Saturday, according to the island’s Central News Agency.
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Ha Long Bay is around 125mi (200km) north east of Hanoi and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Of those who visit Ha Long Bay, many choose to take overnight boat tours to further explore the area.
World
Gaza: More than 30 people killed ‘as Israeli troops open fire towards Palestinians waiting for aid’
More than 30 people have been killed after Israeli troops opened fire towards crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid, according to witnesses and hospital officials.
The deaths occurred near distribution hubs operated by the US-Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the territory.
At least 32 people were killed on Saturday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, while a further 100 people were injured, according to local reports.
Most of the deaths came as Palestinians massed in the Teina area, around 3km (2 miles) away from a GHF aid distribution centre east of the city of Khan Younis.
More than 30 people killed near aid distribution centres. Pic: Mariam Dagga/AP
Mahmoud Mokeimar said he was walking with crowds of people – mostly young men – towards the food hub when troops fired warning shots as the crowd advanced, before opening fire towards the marching people.
“It was a massacre… the occupation opened fire at us indiscriminately,” he said.
Injured Palestinians are brought to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Pic: Mariam Dagga/AP
Akram Aker said troops fired machine guns mounted on tanks and drones.
“They encircled us and started firing directly at us,” he said.
The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 25 bodies, along with dozens of wounded.
Seven other people, including one woman, were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of yards north of another GHF hub in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, the hospital said.
The army and GHF did not immediately comment on Saturday’s violence.
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The GFH, which has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip, says it has distributed millions of meals to hungry Palestinians.
But local health officials and witnesses say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli army fire as they try to reach the distribution hubs.
The GHF, which employs private armed guards, says there have been no deadly shootings at its sites, though this week, 20 people were killed at one of its locations, most of them in a stampede.
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The group accused Hamas agitators of causing a panic, but gave no evidence to back the claim.
The army, which is not at the sites but secures them from a distance, says it only fires warning shots if crowds get too close to its forces.
The 21-month war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.
An Israeli military offensive has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, while Gaza’s more than two million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar in recent weeks, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs.
US President Donald Trump said another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, without providing details.
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