A powerful 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Japan on March 11 at 1446 local time (0546 GMT), unleashing massive tsunami waves that crashed into Japan's northeastern coast of Honshu, the largest and main island of Japan, resulting in widespread damage and destruction. According to the Government of Japan (GoJ), as of Friday (April 1), 11,734 people are confirmed dead and 16,375 people are reported to be missing. (Kyodo, Reuters, April 1) There are no new figures for the number of injured, but the UN reported last week that 2,766 people were injured. Casualty numbers are likely to increase as emergency teams continue to reach and assess affected areas. The earthquake sparked widespread tsunami warnings across the Pacific. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the shallow quake struck at a depth of six miles (10 km) (20 km deep according to Japan's Meteorological Agency), around 80 miles (125 km) off the eastern coast of Japan, and 240 miles (380 km) northeast of Tokyo. (from http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/ADGO-8FJKXT?OpenDocument)
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| A Satellite image of the devastation caused by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami |
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