Number of Missing People in Japan's Quake-hit Ishikawa Prefecture Surges to 323

The number of people currently unaccounted for in the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa stood at 323 Monday by 9:00 am local time, one week after a series of earthquakes of up to 7.6 magnitude struck the prefecture and its vicinity, Xinhua quoted local media as having reported.

The death toll has climbed to 168, according to national broadcaster NHK.

The strongest temblor, officially named the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, is classified as a reverse fault earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 by a government panel. Intermittent aftershocks are hampering recovery efforts in the affected areas.