LOC10:32
07:32 GMT
(With Map)
TOKYO, March 15 (KUNA) -- The confirmed death toll from Friday's 9.
0-magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami that hit northeastern and
eastern Japan has risen to 2,475 and 3,611 people remained missing as of
Tuesday noon, police said.
Among them, seven people were killed in Tokyo, according to the National
Police Agency. But the death toll is expected to further jump, as the chance
of recovering survivors from the rubble has diminished.
Up to 1,254 people have been confirmed to be dead in the hardest-hit Miyagi
Prefecture alone, with many more bodies being found along the coast.
On top of that, nearly 10,000 people in the coastal town of Minamisanriku
in Miyagi Prefecture, about 360 km north of Tokyo, and 10,000 others in
Otsuchi Town in Iwate Prefecture, 450 km north of Tokyo, are still unaccounted
for.
About 450,000 people were taking refuge at around 2,500 evacuation centers
in northeastern region as of Tuesday noon, but water, food, blankets, fuel are
in short supply in various shelters.
The quake also destroyed at least 6,300 buildings and partially damaged
more than 72,000 others, according to public broadcaster NHK. (end)
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KUNA 151032 Mar 11NNNN