Japan: Dead Or missing From Earthquake Over 21,000
By KUNA
The confirmed death toll from a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11 that hit northeastern and eastern Japan further rose to 8,199 and 12,722 others remained missing as of 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Sunday, the government announced.
Of the total, 4,882 deaths have been confirmed in the hardest-hit Miyagi Prefecture, while 2,583 people were killed in neighboring Iwate Prefecture, the National Police Agency said.
The death toll in Miyagi Prefecture alone is expected to exceed 15,000, the local police chief said Sunday.
Meanwhile, Miyagi police found a woman in her 80s and her teenage grandson alive under rubble in Ishinomaki City, nine days after the March 11 disaster. The two, both with conscious, were transferred to a hospital, the rescue workers said, adding that the 16-year-old boy has a low body temperature.
About 360,000 people take refuge in shelters in the cold with little food. Japan has so far received offers for help from 128 nations and territories including Kuwait, as well as 33 international organizations following the twin natural disasters, the Foreign Ministry said.
From the Arab world, Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia also made offers, according to the ministry.
