Snow hinders rescues and aid deliveries to isolated communities after Japan quakes kill 161 people

By HIRO KOMAE, AYAKA MCGILL and YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — Rescue teams are working through snow to deliver supplies to isolated hamlets after a powerful earthquake hit western Japan, killing at least 161 people. Heavy snowfall falling in Ishikawa Prefecture over the weekend and through the new week is adding to the urgency. Over 100 people are still unaccounted for after the New Year’s Day 7.6 magnitude temblor, and 565 people were injured. Hundreds of aftershocks have followed, rattling Noto Peninsula. A woman in her 90s was pulled alive from a collapsed house, where she had waited for 124 hours before she was rescued. Ishikawa officials say 1,390 homes were completely or partially destroyed.