WAJIMA (Japan): A powerful earthquake that hit Japan on New Year’s Day killed at least 55 people, with rescue teams struggling in freezing temperatures on Tuesday to reach coastal areas where many are feared trapped under possibly thousands of destroyed homes.

In Suzu, a town of just over 5,000 households near the quake’s epicentre, 90% of houses may have been destroyed, according to its mayor Masuhiro Izumiya.

“The situation is catastrophic,” he said.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck on Monday afternoon, prompting people in western coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves swept cars and houses into the water.

Around 200 tremors have been detected since the quake first hit on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which warned that more strong shocks could hit in coming days.

A Coast Guard aircraft en route to deliver aid to the quake-hit region collided with a commercial airplane in Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, killing five Coast Guard. All 379 on board the Japan Airlines flight escaped.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the extent of damage from the quake was becoming “increasingly clear” more than 24 hours after it struck on the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.Scores more have been injured and authorities were battling blazes in several cities on Tuesday and hauling people from collapsed buildings.