A strong earthquake hit Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast on Friday afternoon. NHK interviewed one of the people affected by the magnitude 6.5 quake. She says she was rescued after being trapped in her collapsed house for over two hours.
77-year old Nishimura Nobuko lived in a two-story house in Suzu City. Its first floor was destroyed by the earthquake, which had an intensity of upper six on the Japanese scale of one to seven.
Nishimura was sleeping on the first floor when the quake struck. She awoke to violent shaking and a loud noise above.
Nishimura said, "The loud crashing sound was something I'd never heard before. All I could do was to crawl under the futon and wait for the quake to pass."
She tried to get up after the shaking stopped, but she bumped her head on something.
She realized the ceiling had collapsed. So, she crawled under a table in the corner of the room and waited to be rescued.
Finally, she heard a voice calling her name. She crawled toward a light, and saw emergency workers. She was not injured.
Nishimura said, "I'm so grateful rescuers found me. It feels like a miracle that I'm still alive."
The city's board of education says it confirmed damage to 11 local schools, but repairs and cleanup efforts are underway. It says all schools will resume regular classes on Monday.
Rain continues to fall in the region. Weather officials say even heavier rain is expected. They are warning people in the areas affected by the earthquake to be on guard against landslides.