Japanese rescuers were scrambling to search for survivors as authorities warned of landslides and heavy rain after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 62 people, writes The Guardian.

The 7.5-magnitude quake on Monday that rattled Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu triggered tsunami waves more than a metre high, sparked a major fire and tore apart roads.

The prefecture’s Noto peninsula was most severely hit, with several hundred buildings ravaged by fire and houses flattened in several towns, including Wajima and Suzu. Satellite before-and-after images released on Wednesday gave some idea of the scale of destruction.

The regional government announced Wednesday that 62 people had been confirmed dead and more than 300 injured, 20 of them seriously.

The toll was expected to climb as rescuers battled aftershocks and poor weather to comb through rubble.

More than 31,800 people were in shelters, the government said. Japanese media reports said tens of thousands of homes had been destroyed.