Woman in Her 90s Survives 5 Days in Earthquake Rubble

A woman in her 90s was pulled alive from a collapsed house in western Japan late Saturday, 124 hours after a major quake slammed the region, killing at least 126 people, toppling buildings, and setting off landslides. The woman in Suzu city, Ishikawa Prefecture, had survived for more than five days after the 7.6 magnitude quake that hit the area Monday. News footage showed helmeted rescue workers covering the view of the area with blue plastic, the AP reports, and the woman was not visible. Chances for survival diminish after the first 72 hours. Several other dramatic rescues have been reported over the past few days as soldiers, firefighters, and others joined a widespread effort.

Among the dead was a 5-year-old boy who had been recovering from injuries he suffered when boiling water spilled on him during the earthquake. His condition suddenly worsened, and he died Friday, according to Ishikawa prefecture, the hardest-hit region. Aftershocks threatened to bury more homes and block roads crucial for relief shipments. Officials warned that roads already cracked could collapse completely. That risk was growing with rain and snow expected overnight and Sunday. Wajima city has recorded the highest number of deaths with 69, followed by Suzu with 38. More than 500 people were injured, at least 27 of them seriously. The temblors left roofs sitting haplessly on roads and everything beneath them crushed flat. Roads were warped like rubber. A fire turned a neighborhood in Wajima to ashes.

More than 200 people were still unaccounted for, though the number has fluctuated, per the AP. Eleven people were reported trapped under two homes that collapsed in Anamizu. For Shiro Kokuda, 76, the house in Wajima where he grew up was spared, but a nearby temple went up in flames. He was still looking for his friends at evacuation centers. "It's been really tough," he said. Along Japan's coastline, power was gradually being restored, but water supplies were still short. Emergency water systems were also damaged. Thousands of troops were flying and trucking in water, food, and medicine to the more than 30,000 people who had evacuated to auditoriums, schools, and other facilities.

(More Japan earthquake stories.)