Japan Earthquake: Death toll rises to 42 as small town mourns losses

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02:01

The death toll from the magnitude-6.7 earthquake that struck Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido has risen to 42. The town of Atsuma bore the brunt of the disaster, and as CGTN's Barnaby Lo tells us, it is a town in mourning.

When Tomoko Hiraga learned that people had died in the town of Atsuma after last Thursday's magnitude 6.7 earthquake, she had hoped none of them would be a friend. She traveled to Atsuma, only to find out that she had, in fact, lost a friend.

TOMOKO HIRAGA VICTIM'S FRIEND "He treated me like one of his daughters. He would take me out to eat. He even helped me when I moved from Atsuma to Sapporo."

Tomoko isn't the only one mourning; many here were buried alive after the earthquake-triggered landslides.

BARNABY LO ATSUMA, HOKKAIDO "This year, Japan has been hit by one disaster after another. There were those deadly floods in Western Japan, a heat wave, and a typhoon that was the strongest in 25 years. A few days after that typhoon, this earthquake that has devastated this small town in Hokkaido."

Considering the string of disasters, the Japanese government's response to the earthquake, particularly in Atsuma, was swift. Thousands of search and rescue workers were deployed in the immediate aftermath.

HIDEYUKI OOTSUBO TOWN ADMINISTRATOR "Soldiers, police, and firefighters worked round the clock in the first 72 hours after the disaster. That's how we were able to manage it. However, there have been no survivors and that's unfortunate."

Unfortunate indeed, as many survivors may have lost a family or friend, in a small town where people are likely to know each other. Barnaby Lo, CGTN, Atsuma, Hokkaido, Japan.