The number of people missing after a massive earthquake struck the west coast of Japan on New Year’s Day rose to more than 240 on Friday.

According to local media reports, the government has doubled the number of soldiers deployed to the disaster area to 4,600 to support the emergency services.

Four days after the quakes struck, the clock was ticking in the search for survivors.

There were dozens of reports that people remained under collapsed houses.

The mountains of rubble, damaged roads, landslides, and aftershocks continue to hamper rescue teams’ efforts.

In Ishikawa prefecture, the hardest hit, at least 700 people are still cut off from the outside world.

The report said that around 30,000 households had lost their power supply and 80,000 households had lost their water supply.

According to the local authorities, around 33,000 people still have to hold out in hundreds of emergency shelters.

Since the earthquake on New Year’s Day with a magnitude of 7.6, the region on the Sea of Japan has been shaken by more than 150 aftershocks.

(dpa/NAN)