In Pictures: Earthquake hits central Japan on New Year’s Day

TOKYO – Japan on Jan 2 struggled to assess the full extent of damage from an earthquake that struck its west coast, killing at least a dozen people, wrecking buildings and roads, and knocking out power to swathes of homes in freezing temperatures.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck in the middle of the afternoon on Jan 1 in Ishikawa prefecture, prompting residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves about 1m high hit Japan’s western seaboard.

Thousands of army personnel, firefighters and police officers from across the country have been dispatched to the worst-hit area in the relatively remote Noto peninsula.

However, rescue efforts have been hindered by badly damaged and blocked roads, and one of the area’s airports has been forced to close due to runway cracks.