Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The death toll as a result of a series of earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 7.6 that occurred in Ishikawa Prefecture (Central Japan) and its environs on 1 January reached 128 people, Xinhua news agency reported.

In addition, according to local authorities, 560 people in Ishikawa were injured as a result of the earthquakes. As of 14:00 Sunday local time (0500 GMT), 195 residents of the prefecture were still missing and rescue operations continued in the earthquake-hit areas.

A woman in her 90s who was trapped under the rubble was rescued from a collapsed house in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Saturday around 8:20 p.m. local time.

A local doctor said Sunday that the elderly woman, who was rescued 124 hours after the powerful earthquake on 1 January, was strong enough to talk.

According to rescuers, it is rare that anyone can be rescued more than 72 hours after an earthquake, since the chances of survival decrease significantly after the first three days.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday that the government would declare the earthquakes an emergency to provide benefits to those affected, such as extending driver’s licenses and postponing bankruptcy proceedings.

Meanwhile, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of disruption to transport links as heavy snowfall is expected in areas affected by the disaster. Until the morning of 8 January, up to 60 cm of snow may fall in Ishikawa.

According to the Kyodo Tsushin news agency, prefectural authorities plan to temporarily close main roads in the event of prolonged snowfall, which could complicate the delivery of emergency aid to victims.

The 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake was the first to kill more than 100 people in Japan since the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake in the southwest of the country that killed 276 people.