A total of 37 people have been confirmed dead, one person is in the state of cardiopulmonary arrest, and two people remain missing after the powerful earthquake rocked Hokkaido Prefecture in northern Japan on Thursday, according to the local media report on Sunday.

(Photo： VCG)

The government's top spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference on Saturday that a total of 40,000 people, including local police, firefighters, self-defense force personnel and Japan coast guards, are searching for the missing and helping the disaster-hit areas "with all their efforts."

According to public broadcaster NHK, as of 5:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, electricity, water supply and traffic conditions in Hokkaido are gradually resuming and are expected to fully restored by the day.

However, as of 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, around 160 aftershocks were detected in the prefecture, triggering landslides in multiple areas and local authorities have dispatched helicopters and excavator to continue to search for survivors in the debris.

(Photo： VCG)

New Chitose Airport, which had stopped operations after Thursday's earthquake has resumed domestic flight on Friday and international flights on Saturday morning.

About 90 international flights are scheduled to depart from and arrive at New Chitose Airport near Sapporo during the day, Japan's transport ministry said.

The earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, struck Hokkaido prefecture at 3:08 a.m. local time Thursday (1808 GMT Wednesday).

It logged the maximum seven on Japan's seismic intensity scale, marking the first time for Hokkaido since the seismic scale was revised in 1996, according to Japan's weather agency.