Woman in Her 90s Survives for 5 Days Underneath Home That Collapsed During Japan Earthquake

A member of the emergency rescue team said it took three hours to free the trapped woman

A woman in her 90s defied the odds when she was rescued from a collapsed home five days following the deadly earthquake in western Japan, according to various news outlets. 

The New York Times reported that the unidentified woman was trapped underneath the first floor of a two-story home in the city of Suzu, located in the Ishikawa Prefecture. Authorities said that she was pulled out of the rubble Saturday evening, with a member of the emergency rescue team telling Japanese broadcaster NHK that it took hours to free her, per CNN.

According to the Metropolitan Police, per Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper, the woman, who was taken to a nearby hospital, was responsive despite appearing to be hypothermic. On Sunday, a doctor said that the elderly woman was well enough to talk but her legs suffered injuries, CNN reported.

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Meanwhile, rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing, NHK reported, following the 7.6 magnitude quake on Jan. 3 that hit Japan’s western region, killing about 168 people. The broadcaster added that more than 300 people are still missing in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Included in the death toll was a 5-year-old boy who was recovering after suffering injuries from boiling water that spilled on him when the quake struck, per the Associated Press.

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The first 72 hours in finding survivors following an earthquake are generally important, often called “the golden period,” according to experts, per the Times. 

“The situation is terribly challenging, but until those 72 hours crucial for saving lives pass, we will do our utmost to save and rescue as many people as possible with everything we have on the ground,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said last Thursday, per CNN.

Last week, five of six people aboard a Coast Guard plane carrying supplies for Japan’s earthquake relief were killed when the aircraft collided with a Japan Airlines (JAL) plane at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. Miraculously, all 379 people from JAL flight 516 safely evacuated after that plane burst into flames.

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Additionally, Yomiuri reported Monday that Suzu City General Hospital, which has served as a disaster base medical facility after the earthquake, had to transfer 40 percent of patients to other hospitals via helicopters and other methods of transportation due to staff fatigue and food and water shortage.

NHK reported that over 28,000 people were staying in shelters in Ishikawa Prefecture and 158 in Toyama Prefecture, adding that most of those housed in shelters were elderly. One person said via the broadcaster: "I haven't taken a bath for a week. I can't take a bath alone, I need someone to help me."

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