Japan Races to Find Survivors After Deadly Earthquakes and Tsunami Collapse Houses

Rescuers in Japan are still working to reach people trapped under collapsed buildings in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake that brought small tsunami waves which further damaged homes. 

Safety officials are warning people in parts of Japan to stay away from their own homes because of aftershock risks after a series of powerful quakes hit western Japan, leading to a rising death toll and damaging thousands of buildings – along with vehicles and boats.  
  
The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan's main island, Honshu.   
  
Audio of the temblor helps to tell the story of the terrifying ordeal that left people sheltering under desks at the KNB News office.  
  
In one area near the sea, Kazuyuki Iwaike was at work when tsunami waves entered his home.  
  
"If I was home, it probably would have been dangerous because of the tsunami," he said. "Everywhere was the same with the earthquake (and shaking) but the tsunami came inside, so if I was here, it would have been dangerous."  
 
Iwaike says he'll probably stay with family nearby due to the damage to his home as aftershocks continued. 
  
Along with the death toll in Ishikawa, seven others were seriously injured, while damage to homes was so great that it could not immediately be assessed. News videos show rows of collapsed houses.  

Water, power, and cell phone service were still down in some areas, as residents worried about their destroyed homes and uncertain futures. 
  
Earthquakes are frequent in Japan because of its location along the "ring of fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific basin.  
 
Over the last day, the nation has experienced about a hundred aftershocks, leaving residents like Miki Kobayashi cleaning up crumbled walls in her house, wondering if she can even rebuild. She's already rebuilt her home once after an earthquake in 2007. She's thankful both she and her husband survived.  
 
The Japan Meteorological Agency lifted its tsunami warnings after issuing the highest-level alert Monday. Still, the situation remains unpredictable as officials warn more quakes could be coming.