total of about 2,000 bodies have been found in Miyagi Prefecture’s
coastal area in the wake of last week’s calamitous earthquake and
tsunami, according to the prefectural government.
In a meeting Monday morning at the disaster response
headquarters set up by the prefectural government, it was reported that
about 1,000 bodies had been discovered in Minami-Sanrikucho, a coastal
town razed by a tsunami generated by the latest killer quake.
Meanwhile, an estimated 1,000 bodies have been found on the coast of the
According to a central government count, about
530,000 people were taking shelter at public facilities and other
makeshift evacuation centers early Monday morning in areas struck by
the massive earthquake and tsunami. Those evacuees included about
150,000 in Miyagi Prefecture and 130,000 in Fukushima Prefecture.
About 9,600 people remained stranded on hills,
buildings and other elevated locations, waiting for rescuers to arrive
at their sites after fleeing from structures flooded by tsunami waves.
Self-Defense Forces have increased the number of personnel tasked with
rescuing quake victims to 66,000. These SDF members are continuing
their relief activities in quake-stricken areas, including the
transportation of relief supplies to these locations.
Their mission is being carried out in cooperation
with personnel aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald
Reagan and seven other U.S. vessels dispatched to rescue and aid
victims of Friday afternoon’s offshore earthquake.
As of Monday noon in
the death toll stood at 1,647, including 643 in Miyagi Prefecture and
531 in Iwate Prefecture. Meanwhile, those reported missing totaled
1,720 in the stricken areas, with 1,990 people injured, according to
the
On Monday morning, the blackout caused by the
calamity continued to affect an area that normally covers an estimated
1.13 million households, including about 930,000 in Miyagi Prefecture
and 150,000 in Iwate Prefecture. At least 1.4 million households in 14
prefectures, mainly in the Tohoku and Kanto regions, remained cut off
from water supply.
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(c) 2011, The Yomiuri Shimbun.
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