Japan confirms 287 people killed by quake, thousands feared dead
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Video image taken from NHK shows the tsunami caused by the earthquake in Sendai, Japan, March 11, 2011. [Xinhua] |
The death toll following Japan's largest-ever earthquake that struck northeastern Japan on Friday rose to 287 people in nine prefectures including Tokyo, the National Police Agency (NPA) and the Defense Ministry said Saturday.
The devastating damaged caused by the quake that struck at 2:46 p.m. (0546 GMT) on Friday was amplified by tsunami waves devouring Pacific coastal regions in northeastern Japan.
A total of 725 people have still been unaccounted for in six prefectures following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that could be felt in most regions of the nation.
As all the available Self Defense Force (SDF) resources were mobilized to provide emergency relief Saturday, the number of victims of the catastrophe is expected to rise to well over 1,000 people, the NPA and Defense Ministry said Saturday.
Up to 300 bodies were recovered in Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tohoku Region, official said and the Pacific-facing Wakabayashi area of the city was totally leveled by tsunami waves destroying 1,200 homes.
The coastal city of Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture was also devastated by a tsunami wave. Traveling in-bound at speeds upwards of 500 kilometers per hour, the city was completely engulfed, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
The National Police Agency said around 1,800 houses in Fukushima Prefecture were destroyed.
"More than 90 percent of the houses in three coastal communities have been washed away by tsunami. Looking from the fourth floor of the town hall, I see no houses standing," a city official from Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, was quoted as saying.
Japan's search and rescue efforts are being conducted with the help of the U.S. military, with around 20,000 SDF personnel, nearly 200 aircraft and 25 boats being dispatched to the hardest- hit northeastern regions.
Rescue helicopters are attending to 80 people stranded on ship in the waters off Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture and have airlifted people to safety from an elementary school in the town of Watari, in Miyagi, local reports said.
Rescue teams from South Korea and other countries are due to arrive in Japan from Saturday to provide further man power.
The Foreign Ministry said Saturday that 50 nations and regions have offered to provide support following Friday's megaquake.
Almost 6 million households were left without power in quake- hit regions Saturday and four trains operating in the coastal regions of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures have yet to be found following the colossal tsunami.
The local railway company said another train was derailed and nine people had to be airlifted to safety on Saturday.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is monitoring two faltering power plants in Fukushima Prefecture and local residents have been evacuated from the vicinity of the facilities.
At Fukushima's No. 1 plant, the amount of radiation reached 1, 000 times the regular level in the operating room, the agency said and the No. 2 plant is set to release pressure in containers housing nuclear reactors that could result in the leak of radioactive substances.
The failsafe system at the No. 2 plant stopped functioning as the temperature of coolant water exceeded 100 C, the agency said.
According to the Tokyo police more than 116,000 people were unable to return to their homes on Friday evening due to train services being halted and heavy traffic.
JR East will continue the suspension of bullet train services on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line through Saturday, the company said.
People in the capital and nine other prefectures were stuck in 163 elevators following Friday's quake, with 88 of them being rescued thus far, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry said Saturday.
According to the latest development, a powerful 6.8 magnitude aftershock hit the eastern coast of Japan on Saturday, according to the USGS, following a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan Friday afternoon.
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