ID :
172616
Sat, 04/02/2011 - 18:33
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http://m.oananews.org//node/172616
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Intensive search for tsunami victims runs into 2nd of 3 days
TOKYO, April 2 Kyodo - The Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the U.S. military and other rescue workers recovered 20 bodies Saturday as their intensive search for the missing in tsunami-hit northeastern coastal areas continued into the second day of a three-day operation.
The figure brought to 53 the total number of bodies recovered over two days from areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The bulk of Saturday's operation was held in and around Ishinomaki, one of the worst affected cities in Miyagi Prefecture. They searched around an elementary school where many pupils went missing after the tsunami, while some 50 divers from the SDF, the Japan Coast Guard and other entities were deployed to the nearby Kitakami River, the largest in northeastern Japan.
Some 18,000 SDF personnel and about 7,000 U.S. military personnel, as well as members of police, the JCG and fire departments, continued their involvement in the operation.
The death toll from the quake-tsunami disaster tallied by the National Police Agency stood at 11,938 in 12 prefectures as of 8 p.m. Saturday, while the number of missing people reported by their relatives to police totaled 15,478 in six prefectures.
Of the hardest hit three prefectures in Japan, 7,252 died in Miyagi, 3,518 in Iwate, and 1,108 in Fukushima. Those who are missing stood at 6,329 in Miyagi, 4,513 in Iwate and 4,632 in Fukushima.
As aftershocks continue in the region, a quake with a preliminary magnitude 4.8 occurred around 5 a.m. Saturday, measuring 4 on the Japanese intensity scale of 7 in the southern coastal areas of Iwate, north of Miyagi.
It was followed by a magnitude-5.0 quake that registered lower 5 on the intensity scale in Ibaraki Prefecture, just south of Fukushima.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said low temperatures are expected on the Pacific coast in the Tohoku region, as well as in the Kanto area surrounding Tokyo on Sunday and Monday, adding that some areas are likely to see temperatures below zero.
The figure brought to 53 the total number of bodies recovered over two days from areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The bulk of Saturday's operation was held in and around Ishinomaki, one of the worst affected cities in Miyagi Prefecture. They searched around an elementary school where many pupils went missing after the tsunami, while some 50 divers from the SDF, the Japan Coast Guard and other entities were deployed to the nearby Kitakami River, the largest in northeastern Japan.
Some 18,000 SDF personnel and about 7,000 U.S. military personnel, as well as members of police, the JCG and fire departments, continued their involvement in the operation.
The death toll from the quake-tsunami disaster tallied by the National Police Agency stood at 11,938 in 12 prefectures as of 8 p.m. Saturday, while the number of missing people reported by their relatives to police totaled 15,478 in six prefectures.
Of the hardest hit three prefectures in Japan, 7,252 died in Miyagi, 3,518 in Iwate, and 1,108 in Fukushima. Those who are missing stood at 6,329 in Miyagi, 4,513 in Iwate and 4,632 in Fukushima.
As aftershocks continue in the region, a quake with a preliminary magnitude 4.8 occurred around 5 a.m. Saturday, measuring 4 on the Japanese intensity scale of 7 in the southern coastal areas of Iwate, north of Miyagi.
It was followed by a magnitude-5.0 quake that registered lower 5 on the intensity scale in Ibaraki Prefecture, just south of Fukushima.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said low temperatures are expected on the Pacific coast in the Tohoku region, as well as in the Kanto area surrounding Tokyo on Sunday and Monday, adding that some areas are likely to see temperatures below zero.
