Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- According to the latest data, an earthquake in Japan killed 50 people, Kyodo reported, citing local authorities.

Japanese authorities reported extensive damage and many injuries after strong earthquakes struck the country’s west coast on 1 January 2024 during New Year’s celebrations, according to local media. Several prefectures have issued tsunami warnings and ordered evacuations.

Also, more than a hundred people were injured, among whom 17 were hospitalized in serious condition. Most of the victims and injured were residents of Ishikawa Prefecture, which was at the epicenter of the ongoing earthquakes and suffered the most from the disaster. There, fires that followed tremors destroyed over 200 residential buildings, and more than 100 buildings were destroyed by earthquakes.

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture was the strongest to hit the region since 1885, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.