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Confirmed death toll reaches 217
Source: Xinhua |
March 12, 2011, Saturday
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The death toll from yesterday's powerful tremor in Japan reached 217 today in nine prefectures, including Tokyo, with the toll likely to rise to over 1,000 following some areas suffered devastating damage in the 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in Japan, the National Police Agency and the Defense Ministry said.
"This is the largest earthquake since the Meiji Era, and it is believed that more than 1,000 people have lost their lives." Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a meeting of the emergency disaster headquarters today.
The massive quake triggered huge tsunami along Japan's Pacific coast, and enormous waves smashed the northern parts of the coast in particular. The tsunami has swept away houses, cars and ships.
The death toll is likely to surpass 1,000 as about 1,800 houses in Fukushima Prefecture were found to have been devastated, according to the Defense Ministry.
The Miyagi prefectural police found 200 to 300 bodies in Wakabayashi Ward in the city of Sendai after a 10-meter tsunami washed the port.
Radioactive substances could have already leaked at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said today, according to Kyodo news agency.
Radiation was 1,000 times higher than normal detected at a nuke plant. Pressure was rising inside the No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 plant after the quake.
Kyodo quoted Tokyo Electric Power Co. as saying that the cooling system failed at three reactors of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant today.
The company notified the industry ministry that the failsafe system at the No. 2 plant stopped functioning.
In Sendai, authorities evacuated 60,000-70,000 people to around 200 shelters, according to the report.
Several hundred other people were injured across an extensive area of Japan, the police said.
Two powerful earthquakes each with a magnitude of over 6 hit Japan around 5am, USGS reported.
The first quake, with a magnitude of 6.6, struck near the west coast of Honshu, Japan, at 1946 GMT with a depth of 10km. The second one of 6.3 magnitude hit near the east coast of Honshu at 2011 GMT with a depth of 8.7 km, according to USGS.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan left Tokyo by helicopter today morning for quake-hit northeastern Japan.
Kan told reporters just before leaving that he is planning to land near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Kyodo reported.
The amount of radiation reached around 1,000 times the normal level today in the control room of the No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
Kan is likely to observe other affected areas from the air, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, adding that the prime minister is scheduled to return to Tokyo around 10:50am.
In Iwate Prefecture, the coastal city of Rikuzentakata was virtually destroyed by a tsunami wave, with almost all of the city submerged, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency and local police said. The agency has been unable to contact the city's fire department since the quake hit, Kyodo said citing the agency's sources.
In the quake-hit areas, around 5.57 million households had lost power as of today morning.
Some 130 households in the village of Sakae, Nagano, are believed to be isolated due to an avalanche caused by the quake, according to local authorities.
Four trains running in a coastal area of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures remained unaccounted for after tsunami triggered by yesterday's earthquake hit the area, the train operator said today.
It is not known how many people were aboard the trains that were running on East Japan Railway Co.'s Ofunato, Senseki and Kesennuma lines on the Pacific coast when the magnitude 8.8 quake hit northern Japan.
The company said earlier that another train on the Senseki Line was found derailed near Nobiru Station after the quake. The Miyagi prefectural police rescued nine passengers from the train by helicopter today.
Japanese Foreign Ministry said today that rescue teams from foreign countries are set to begin arriving in Japan from Saturday after 50 countries and regions offered support following yesterday's powerful earthquake.
"This is the largest earthquake since the Meiji Era, and it is believed that more than 1,000 people have lost their lives." Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a meeting of the emergency disaster headquarters today.
The massive quake triggered huge tsunami along Japan's Pacific coast, and enormous waves smashed the northern parts of the coast in particular. The tsunami has swept away houses, cars and ships.
The death toll is likely to surpass 1,000 as about 1,800 houses in Fukushima Prefecture were found to have been devastated, according to the Defense Ministry.
The Miyagi prefectural police found 200 to 300 bodies in Wakabayashi Ward in the city of Sendai after a 10-meter tsunami washed the port.
Radioactive substances could have already leaked at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said today, according to Kyodo news agency.
Radiation was 1,000 times higher than normal detected at a nuke plant. Pressure was rising inside the No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 plant after the quake.
Kyodo quoted Tokyo Electric Power Co. as saying that the cooling system failed at three reactors of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant today.
The company notified the industry ministry that the failsafe system at the No. 2 plant stopped functioning.
In Sendai, authorities evacuated 60,000-70,000 people to around 200 shelters, according to the report.
Several hundred other people were injured across an extensive area of Japan, the police said.
Two powerful earthquakes each with a magnitude of over 6 hit Japan around 5am, USGS reported.
The first quake, with a magnitude of 6.6, struck near the west coast of Honshu, Japan, at 1946 GMT with a depth of 10km. The second one of 6.3 magnitude hit near the east coast of Honshu at 2011 GMT with a depth of 8.7 km, according to USGS.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan left Tokyo by helicopter today morning for quake-hit northeastern Japan.
Kan told reporters just before leaving that he is planning to land near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Kyodo reported.
The amount of radiation reached around 1,000 times the normal level today in the control room of the No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
Kan is likely to observe other affected areas from the air, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, adding that the prime minister is scheduled to return to Tokyo around 10:50am.
In Iwate Prefecture, the coastal city of Rikuzentakata was virtually destroyed by a tsunami wave, with almost all of the city submerged, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency and local police said. The agency has been unable to contact the city's fire department since the quake hit, Kyodo said citing the agency's sources.
In the quake-hit areas, around 5.57 million households had lost power as of today morning.
Some 130 households in the village of Sakae, Nagano, are believed to be isolated due to an avalanche caused by the quake, according to local authorities.
Four trains running in a coastal area of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures remained unaccounted for after tsunami triggered by yesterday's earthquake hit the area, the train operator said today.
It is not known how many people were aboard the trains that were running on East Japan Railway Co.'s Ofunato, Senseki and Kesennuma lines on the Pacific coast when the magnitude 8.8 quake hit northern Japan.
The company said earlier that another train on the Senseki Line was found derailed near Nobiru Station after the quake. The Miyagi prefectural police rescued nine passengers from the train by helicopter today.
Japanese Foreign Ministry said today that rescue teams from foreign countries are set to begin arriving in Japan from Saturday after 50 countries and regions offered support following yesterday's powerful earthquake.
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