Western Japan earthquakes have claimed 100 lives; rain and snow imperil already shaky ground

Aftershocks threatened to bury more homes and block roads crucial for relief shipments, as the death toll from the earthquakes that rattled Japan’s western coastline last week reached 100 on Saturday. Among the dead was a 5-year-old boy who had been recovering from injuries after boiling water spilled on him during Monday’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Officials warned that roads, already cracked from the dozens of earthquakes that continue to shake the area, could collapse completely.