Sunday, March 20, 2011
Earthquake in Japan - 8.450 dead and 12.931 missing
The death toll from the earthquake and Tsunami of 11 days in Japan rose to the 8,450 people while 12,931 others were missing, according to data released today by the Japanese police.
Nine days after the earthquake of 8.9 degrees on the northeast coast of Japan, which caused the worst natural disaster after World War II, two people were found alive today in the rubble in the province of Miyagi, although hopes of finding more survivors diminish with the passage of the hours.
Assistance efforts focus on seeking shelter to survivors who have lost their homes, including about 360,000 evacuees, most of which remain at 2,200 shelters licensed by the authorities.
Among them are the 200,000 evacuees around the nuclear plant in Fukushima, where technicians and military struggle day and night by lowering the temperature of the reactor to prevent further radiation leaks.
More than 600 aftershocks have rocked the territory of Japan after the earthquake of 9 on the Richter scale on day 11 on the northeast coast.
The aftershocks have not caused serious damage so far, while causing great excitement among a population shocked by the strong earthquake on day 11, the devastating tsunami that followed and the nuclear crisis.
The Government has announced that once controlled the Fukushima plant will never again operate.
At the same time, the government has acknowledged that he had detected radioactive iodine levels above those allowed in milk of four places in the province of Fukushima and spinach in the neighboring province of Ibaraki.
The products came to market and, according to the Government, there are no health risks.
Plant in Fukushima on Sunday have been released tons of water to cool the reactor number 4 and has managed to connect power to the unit 2, but is the reactor 3, which stored uranium and plutonium, which causes greater concern.