KANAZAWA (Kyodo) -- The number of fatalities related to a powerful earthquake that jolted Ishikawa Prefecture and surrounding areas in central Japan on New Year's Day of 2024 is expected to rise as a further 200 deaths may be included, according to relevant municipalities.

About a year after a magnitude-7.6 earthquake devastated the Noto Peninsula, the death toll exceeded 500. The majority of fatalities, mostly in Ishikawa, include those linked to the aftermath of the quake, such as deaths in evacuation centers.

Applications for more than 200 deaths in Ishikawa have yet to be processed for recognition as quake-related deaths, they said.

These deaths are counted separately from the approximately 230 people who were killed during or immediately after the earthquake, including those trapped under collapsed buildings.

Once people's deaths are recognized as disaster-related, bereaved families are eligible to receive up to 5 million yen ($32,000) based on the law on the provision of disaster condolence grants.

Of the approximately 270 certified post-quake fatalities in Ishikawa, around 20 percent occurred three months or more after the disaster, with most of the victims being in their 70s or older, according to the prefectural government.

Among 115 cases where factors contributing to deaths were disclosed as of Dec. 24, "distress after the earthquake and fear of aftershocks" was the most cited at 89 cases, followed by "severed lifelines such as electricity and water" at 53 cases, and "life in evacuation centers" at 37 cases, it said.

Besides Ishikawa, a handful of cases have been recognized as post-disaster deaths in Niigata and Toyama prefectures.

Municipalities have so far been able to process fewer than 20 people each month, leading to a backlog of applications.