Soldiers, firemen and emergency personnel made last-ditch efforts to rescue any survivors still trapped in the rubble from a New Year’s Day quake that devastated an area on Japan’s northwest coast and killed at least 78 people.

About 4,600 personnel have been deployed to help in the rescue and relief efforts, Defence Minister Minoru Kihara said on Thursday (Jan 4). The military dispatched an amphibious vessel carrying heavy machinery to the coast of the Noto Peninsula, while sniffer dogs scoured the wreckage. 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said there is “a race against time” to find survivors and called for an all-out effort for the rescue operations as a crucial 72-hour window is soon set to close.

The 7.6 magnitude quake flattened buildings, buckled roads and led to a blaze that engulfed about 200 structures in the city of Wajima, one of the cities hit hardest by the tremor, where officials said at least 44 people have been killed.

The Ishikawa prefectural government has released a list of more than 50 people whose whereabouts are still unknown, adding some 34,000 people who are being counted as evacuees.

More than 30,000 residences were without power as of 2 pm Thursday, according to Hokuriku Electric Power. Rain is forecast for the next several days for the region about 315 km northwest of Tokyo, increasing the risks of landslides. Powerful aftershocks and frigid temperatures added to the concerns of thousands of people seeking food, water and shelter.

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Officials from across Japan have sent personnel and equipment to help. The Tokyo police department sent a rescue team and the city’s fire department dispatched aviation platoons that included helicopters, metropolitan government member Masao Kojo said in a social media post.

In the town of Suzu, a man in his 80s was pulled from a collapsed house 44 hours after the quake, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. 

The loss from the earthquake is currently estimated to be around US$5.6 billion, according to Takahide Kiuchi, an executive economist at the Nomura Research Institute. Kishida said the Cabinet would meet next Tuesday to discuss using reserve funds to help the quake-hit area.

While there is not a lot of industry in the Noto Peninsula, known for its fishing ports and crafts such as lacquerware, the powerful quake rocked large parts of a broader region where companies have production facilities. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped on the year’s first trading day after speculation the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates elevated for longer hurt technology shares, and as the earthquake dragged down some companies.

Shares of Kokusai Electric, Murata Manufacturing and other companies with factories and operations in the area hit by the tremor slumped as investors tried to assess the damage. Hokuriku Electric Power, which serves the region, sank as much as 7.9 per cent in the morning.

The yen came under renewed pressure on expectations that the earthquake will make it harder for the Bank of Japan to abolish negative interest rates. BLOOMBERG