People walk through the damaged marketplace in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture. AP
People walk through the damaged marketplace in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture. AP
People walk through the damaged marketplace in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture. AP
People walk through the damaged marketplace in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture. AP

Japan earthquake: 48 dead after buildings collapse and inferno at port


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At least 48 people were killed in Monday's earthquake in western Japan which caused a small tsunami and left buildings blazing and roads buckled.

Rescue workers looked for people feared trapped in rubble amid about 155 aftershocks, which are complicating recovery efforts.

The 7.5-magnitude quake, which hit Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu, also caused a port fire and has wrecked motorways.

Officials said 16 others were seriously injured, while damage to homes was so great that it could not immediately be assessed, they said.

Japanese media reports said tens of thousands of homes had been destroyed and almost 45,000 households were without power in the region where temperatures touched freezing overnight.

“Saving lives is our priority and we are fighting a battle against time,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday. “It is critical that people trapped in homes get rescued immediately.”

“We have to race against time to search for and rescue survivors of the disaster.”

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had a magnitude of 7.5. Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 7.6, and said it was one of more than 150 to shake the region through Tuesday morning.

Japan's military sent 1,000 soldiers to join rescue efforts, Mr Kishida said, stressing they were facing “large-scale damage.” Details of damaged homes were still under investigation, he said.

Firefighters continued to battle a fire in Wajima city that engulfed row of houses, with people being evacuated in the dark, some with blankets and others carrying babies.

A duty officer at Wajima Fire Department told they still were being overwhelmed Tuesday by rescue requests and reports of damages.

Tsunami warning lifted

On Monday waves at least 1.2 metres high hit Wajima, and a series of smaller tsunamis were reported elsewhere.

But warnings of much larger waves proved unfounded and on Tuesday Japan lifted all tsunami warnings.

A total of 62,000 people had been ordered to evacuate, according to the fire and disaster management agency.

About 1,000 people were staying at a military base, the Defence Ministry said.

Monday's quake shook apartments in the capital Tokyo some 300 kilometres away, and several major motorways were closed around the epicentre, Japan's road operator said. Bullet train services from Tokyo were also suspended.

Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year and the vast majority cause no damage.

The country has strict regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong quakes and routinely holds emergency drills.

In 2011, a 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off north-eastern Japan triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.

The 2011 tsunami also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan's worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Japan's nuclear authority said there were no abnormalities reported at the Shika atomic power plant in Ishikawa or at other plants after Monday's quake.

Japan is frequently hit by earthquakes because of its location along the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
 
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
 
Don’t be afraid to negotiate

It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
 
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
 
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.

The schedule

December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club

December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq

December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm

December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition

December 13: Falcon beauty competition

December 14 and 20: Saluki races

December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm

December 16 - 19: Falconry competition

December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am

December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am

December 22: The best herd of 30 camels

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MATCH INFO

RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')

Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)

Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin

On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE

Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Updated: January 03, 2024, 5:36 AM