LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and his family are safe after a powerful earthquake struck Japan while they were on vacation, according to a spokesperson for the Mayor’s office.
Press Secretary Kevin Trager told WHAS11 the Greenbergs were visiting Japan on a family trip to ring in the New Year.
On Monday, a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook the western coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. At least 48 people were killed.
Trager said although he is not aware of their exact location at this time, the mayor’s family was not impacted by the natural disaster.
“Their thoughts are with Japan and the families affected,” Trager said in a statement. “The Greenbergs will be traveling back to Louisville later this week.”
Japanese media aerial footage showed widespread damage in the hardest-hit spots, with landslides burying roads, boats tossed in the waters and a major fire that had turned an entire section of Wajima city to ashes.
Japan’s military dispatched 1,000 soldiers to the disaster zones to join rescue efforts, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday.
“Saving lives is our priority and we are fighting a battle against time,” he said. “It is critical that people trapped in homes get rescued immediately.”
A quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 shook the Ishikawa area as he was speaking. More quakes continued to rock the area, reaching more than 100 aftershocks over the past day.
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