Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Quake deaths, missing exceed 10,000

Quake deaths, missing exceed 10,000



The number of dead and missing from Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan has exceeded 10,000. This is the first time since World War Two that Japan has recorded so many victims in a natural disaster.

Police say 3,570 deaths have been confirmed so far, and 7,558 people remain unaccounted for.

In Miyagi Prefecture, 1,816 deaths have been confirmed, and 2,011 people remain missing. In Minami-sanriku Town, roughly 1,000 bodies have been discovered. Around 8,000 people, or nearly half the town's population, are missing.

Police have found several hundred bodies on the beaches of the Oshika Peninsula.

In Onagawa Town on the peninsula, about 5,000 people, or half the population, remain unaccounted for.

Iwate Prefecture has 1,193 confirmed deaths and 3,318 missing. A total of 373 deaths have been confirmed in the cities of Rikuzen-takata and Ofunato. Rikuzen-takata has 1,282 missing.

Fukushima Prefecture has confirmed 506 deaths and 2,220 missing. In Namie Town, the whereabouts of around 900 residents remain unknown.

Over 440,000 people are in 2,400 shelters in northeastern and central prefectures. Some shelters have yet to receive food and water and other essential supplies.

Relief efforts are being hampered by a shortage of fuel for trucks and ambulances.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 08:11 +0900 (JST)