LOC14:54
11:54 GMT
(With Photos)
TOKYO, Mar 19 (KUNA) -- The confirmed death toll from a 9.0-magnitude
earthquake and devastating tsunami on March 11 that hit northeastern and
eastern Japan has jumped to 7,197 and 10,905 others people remained missing as
of Saturday, the government announced.
Of the total, 4,289 deaths have been confirmed in the hardest-hit Miyagi
Prefecture alone, while 2,233 people were killed in neighboring Iwate
Prefecture, the National Police Agency said.
The death toll is expected to further rise, as the current tally of missing
people reflects only the number actually registered with the police. About 387,
000 people are still forced to spend their time in 2,200 shelters.
Meanwhile, a man in his 20s was rescued in the morning from a partially
collapsed house in Miyagi Prefecture, eight days after the disaster, the
Self-Defense Forces (SDF) said. The rescuers found the man wrapped in a
blanket on the second floor of his house, the SDF said, adding he was
transferred to a hospital. According to the hospital, he sustained no major
injuries and there is no threat to his life. However, the man is unable to
speak because of shock.
According to a report by Kyodo News Agency, construction of some 200
temporary housing units started Saturday in the coastal city of Rikuzentakata
in Iwate Prefecture, which was severely damaged in the mega earthquake and
tsunamis. The 30-square-meter prefabricated houses capable of accommodating
two to three people will be built on the grounds of a junior high school, the
report said.
The Iwate prefectural government plans to build 8,800 houses in total for
evacuees. Miyagi Prefecture, where Governor Yoshihiro Murai called on
survivors to move to other prefectures due to the difficulty of providing
housing in the short term, has received offers from other prefectures to put
up the evacuees in public housing, the report said. Iwate Prefecture is also
planning to transfer survivors in coastal areas to less-damaged inland public
and private accommodation.
Vital infrastructure was gradually restored in the disaster-stricken areas,
while some damaged roads, airports and ports have been repaired. The Akita
Shinkansen Line bullet train service was also partially resumed on Friday.
(end)
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