Japan quake dead and missing over 28,000

Monday, March 28, 2011

Japan quake dead and missing over 28,000

4:43 PM

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A man walks past vehicles which were washed away by tsunami into the entrance of an elementary school in Sendai, northern Japan: Japan earthquake: Mothers at Sendai school receive the dead bodies of their children

The number of confirmed dead and people listed as missing from the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's northeast coast has topped 28,000, the National Police Agency says.

The agency - which collects data from the prefectures affected - said today that 10,901 had been confirmed dead and 17,649 listed as missing as of 5pm (AEDT) as a result of the March 11 catastrophe.

A total of 2776 are listed as injured.

The quake has become Japan's deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 142,000 people.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and have taken shelter in emergency facilities.