Japan Earthquake, Tsunami And Nuclear Crisis Facts and Figures

The latest update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

Casualties: 27,600 dead or missing

As of the 30 March, the official death toll from the 11 March  earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast  coast of Japan now stands at 11,257. Another 16,344  people remain missing.

Displacement

There are now 173,200 people  living in more than 2,000 evacuation centres  in 17  prefectures mostly in the north of Japan.  In the three worst  affected prefectures, Miyagi, Iwate and  Fukushima,  146,628 evacuees are living in some 1,245 evacuation centres.

Transportation Infrastructure:

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reports that more than 90 per cent of the Tohoku region’s main land, sea and air routes  are  open.  More than 37,200 vehicles are now passing through the Tohoku  Expressway per day, which is 1.3 times more traffic than before the disaster struck. All 15 ports and most  airports are now open. Railway lines are still under repair. Express buses are carrying 4,400 people per day  into and out of the region which is more than twice as many passengers than before the disaster. However,  roads in the affected cities and towns  are  still damaged or blocked with debris and this is  hampering the  delivery of aid  to  the many  smaller evacuation centres. Relief items are  being  delivered on foot in some  places.

Electricity:

An estimated 190,000 households (492,000 people) remain without electricity. Another 330,000 households  (936,000 people) are without gas supplies. Water availability has improved by about 25 per cent in the last  few days. Currently, 372,000 households (913,000 people) are still without water in nine prefecture.

Nuclear Crisis:

Radioactive water found in and outside reactor buildings is delaying work to restore cooling functions of the  Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Seawater near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has reached a  much higher level of radiation than previously reported. New readings from a sample of sea water found  radioactive iodine at 3,355 times the legal limit. Japan’s Nuclear Safety Agency says this does not pose a  health risk. The Government says it is  expected to take a considerable amount of time before the  temperatures of fuel rods in the reactor cores at the power station are lowered to a stable state. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant remains very  serious. A Joint FAO/IAEA Food Safety Assessment Team met with local government authorities in Ibaraki  Prefecture on Monday who  briefed the  team  on the extent of contamination in Ibaraki, the principle  agricultural products affected, the main production areas and production methods and levels of  contamination found. The FAO/IAEA  team also meet with the local authorities in Tochigi  Prefecture  yesterday, and will meet with local government officials in Gunma today.

U.S. Military Response:

Since Operation Tomodachi started US Military forces have delivered more than 185 tons of food, 3,638,184 gallons of water and 17,836 gallons of fuel, in support of Japan Self Defense Force efforts.  Currently, 19 ships, 133 aircraft and 18,165 personnel of the 7th Fleet are operating in support of the Operation to assist Japan.  Since Operation Tomodachi started, U.S. 7th Fleet forces have delivered more than 240 tons of  humanitarian assistance supplies to tsunami and earthquake areas.