ID :
170872
Fri, 03/25/2011 - 19:29
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/170872
The shortlink copeid
Death toll tops 10,000 as 2 weeks pass since quake-tsunami disaster
TOKYO, March 26 Kyodo - Two weeks after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern and eastern Japan, the official death toll topped 10,000 while more than 240,000 people were still sheltering in about 1,900 evacuation centers as of Friday.
Direct damage from the disaster, including destroyed homes and roads, is estimated at between 16 trillion to 25 trillion yen, while radiation leaks at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continue to cause widespread anxiety.
The National Police Agency said more than 27,000 people had been confirmed dead or remained unaccounted for as of 11 p.m. Friday -- 10,102 deaths and 17,053 missing.
The full extent of loss of life remains unclear, partly because search efforts in Fukushima Prefecture have been hampered by the nuclear emergency, while in Miyagi Prefecture local police have suggested it is likely that more bodies will be recovered from the sea.
Miyagi police have posted information on their website about more than 2,000 recovered bodies, including details of clothing and body type, in the hope of identifying them.
With the number of dead exceeding the authorities' capacity to cremate them, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures are forgoing the custom and have begun burials. In Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, nearly 100 bodies had been buried as of Thursday.
In Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures where the death tolls and numbers of missing people are high, autopsies on around 9,890 bodies have been completed. Of these, about 6,890 have been identified and about 6,320 returned to their families.
Highways and ports in the disaster-hit areas have reopened, paving the way for the expansion of activities to support people affected by the disaster.
But some bullet train services on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line are still suspended, with full service unlikely to resume before April. Fifty-five sewage plants remain disabled.
Survivors of the disaster have also been threatened by continuing aftershocks, with the Japan Meteorological Agency forecasting a 20 percent likelihood through Sunday of an aftershock with a magnitude of 7 or above.
The agency also forecast the possibility of heavy snow on the Pacific side of northeastern Japan through noon Saturday and lower temperatures than in an average year for the next few days.
As part of efforts to help make life easier for survivors, 950 local governments across Japan have so far expressed their intention to accept or have begun accepting disaster victims at temporary evacuation shelters, and public housing and lodging facilities, according to a Kyodo News tally.
Based on the survey, which excluded hard-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, the local governments included all of Japan's remaining 44 prefectures as well as about 900 city, town and village governments.
The nuclear crisis, meanwhile, led authorities to issue temporary warnings in some cities in Fukushima, Ibaraki and a few other prefectures Thursday calling on people not to give tap water to infants due to radioactive contamination.
Tokyo lifted a similar warning the same day.
Efforts to restore power and vital cooling functions at the nuclear plant are ongoing, but three workers were exposed to high-level radiation at one of the reactor buildings Thursday, stirring concern that it could cause a delay in bringing the situation at the plant under control.
Two of the three workers sustained possible burns and have likely suffered ''internal exposure'' in which radioactive substances have entered their bodies, but they do not require treatment, according to a national radiation research center where they are undergoing specialized evaluation.
Direct damage from the disaster, including destroyed homes and roads, is estimated at between 16 trillion to 25 trillion yen, while radiation leaks at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continue to cause widespread anxiety.
The National Police Agency said more than 27,000 people had been confirmed dead or remained unaccounted for as of 11 p.m. Friday -- 10,102 deaths and 17,053 missing.
The full extent of loss of life remains unclear, partly because search efforts in Fukushima Prefecture have been hampered by the nuclear emergency, while in Miyagi Prefecture local police have suggested it is likely that more bodies will be recovered from the sea.
Miyagi police have posted information on their website about more than 2,000 recovered bodies, including details of clothing and body type, in the hope of identifying them.
With the number of dead exceeding the authorities' capacity to cremate them, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures are forgoing the custom and have begun burials. In Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, nearly 100 bodies had been buried as of Thursday.
In Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures where the death tolls and numbers of missing people are high, autopsies on around 9,890 bodies have been completed. Of these, about 6,890 have been identified and about 6,320 returned to their families.
Highways and ports in the disaster-hit areas have reopened, paving the way for the expansion of activities to support people affected by the disaster.
But some bullet train services on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line are still suspended, with full service unlikely to resume before April. Fifty-five sewage plants remain disabled.
Survivors of the disaster have also been threatened by continuing aftershocks, with the Japan Meteorological Agency forecasting a 20 percent likelihood through Sunday of an aftershock with a magnitude of 7 or above.
The agency also forecast the possibility of heavy snow on the Pacific side of northeastern Japan through noon Saturday and lower temperatures than in an average year for the next few days.
As part of efforts to help make life easier for survivors, 950 local governments across Japan have so far expressed their intention to accept or have begun accepting disaster victims at temporary evacuation shelters, and public housing and lodging facilities, according to a Kyodo News tally.
Based on the survey, which excluded hard-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, the local governments included all of Japan's remaining 44 prefectures as well as about 900 city, town and village governments.
The nuclear crisis, meanwhile, led authorities to issue temporary warnings in some cities in Fukushima, Ibaraki and a few other prefectures Thursday calling on people not to give tap water to infants due to radioactive contamination.
Tokyo lifted a similar warning the same day.
Efforts to restore power and vital cooling functions at the nuclear plant are ongoing, but three workers were exposed to high-level radiation at one of the reactor buildings Thursday, stirring concern that it could cause a delay in bringing the situation at the plant under control.
Two of the three workers sustained possible burns and have likely suffered ''internal exposure'' in which radioactive substances have entered their bodies, but they do not require treatment, according to a national radiation research center where they are undergoing specialized evaluation.
