As daylight broke across Japan this morning the full destruction of the deadly 7.6 magnitude earthquake was laid bare showing collapsed homes, toppled temples and huge cracks in the middle of roads.
White smoke continued to rise from the charred remains of buildings, as the country woke to the horrific aftermath after being hit with 150 quakes in less than 24 hours.
The New Year's Day disaster left at least 13 people dead in the Ishikawa Prefecture according to the Japan Times, with dozens more injured and unaccounted for as emergency workers plough through rubble to try and find survivors.
One building, believed to be a seven-storey block, was seen lying on its side while a temple in Suzu City is said to have been completely destroyed. In popular tourist site Wajima City, in the Ishikawa Prefecture at least 100 buildings have been destroyed.
Shocking images emerging from the country show houses flattened to the ground, with abandoned cars being engulfed into huge crevices in the road.
A major search and rescue operation continued into the early hours of Tuesday, with Japan's Prime Minister saying that rescue efforts had been made 'extremely difficult due to damage to roads' in the Ishikawa prefecture, near the epicentre of the quake.
But fears are growing that time is running out to find survivors trapped beneath the surface. The main highway through the district was completely closed, according to reports.
Videos shared on social media and broadcast on Japanese TV showed how structures had crumbled in Suzu, a city close to the epicentre of the largest quake, with thick cracks appearing in roads. The tremors triggered a huge fire in Wajima, with shocking footage showing massive flames engulfing residential buildings according to local broadcasters.
Other clips showed terrified shoppers thrown to the ground in department stores and flooding at a train station after water pipes burst. The earthquake struck as millions of Japanese flocked to temples to mark the New Year, and temple-goers were seen in footage crouching in fear as chunks of rock tumbled to the ground before them.
Rescuers are combing through the debris of several houses to evacuate trapped residents after Yoshimasa Hayashi, chief cabinet secretary of Japan, acknowledged reports of scores of people trapped under the rubble of their homes.
The death toll is expected to rise sharply as the rescue operation continues.
Many of these people are spending the night braving sub-zero temperatures, afraid to return to their homes amid warnings that further aftershocks could continue for 72 hours, with a constant risk of tsunamis.
Meanwhile, local reports suggested that large landslides between the cities of Toyama and Kanazawa have all but severed the Noto peninsula from the rest of Ishikawa, further complicating rescue efforts.
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