Tokyo, Jan. 9 -- The death toll reached 202 in the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa as of Tuesday afternoon after a series of earthquakes of up to 7.6 magnitude struck the prefecture and its vicinity, local media reported.

A total of 102 people remained unaccounted for in the hardest-hit prefecture as of 2 p.m. local time, while at least 565 people suffered injuries due to the quakes, the public broadcaster NHK said.

Local police have carried out a large-scale search for the missing people in Wajima City, near the quake's epicenter, where a massive fire in the city center destroyed more than 200 buildings in an area of 48,000 square meters, the report said.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government on Tuesday approved the alloca...