Death Toll Estimate in Japan Soars as Relief Efforts Intensify

FUKUSHIMA, Japan — Japan faced mounting humanitarian and nuclear emergencies Sunday as the death toll from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami climbed astronomically, partial meltdowns occurred at two crippled plants and cooling problems struck four more reactors. Military units and civilian search-and-rescue teams continued their grim and grinding work in the aftermath of the massive quake and tsunami that struck the nation’s northern Pacific coast.

In one town alone, the port of Minamisanriku, a senior police official said the number of dead would “certainly be more than 10,000.” The overall number is also certain to climb as searchers began to reach coastal villages that essentially vanished under the first muddy surge of the tsunami. Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a press conference late Sunday: “I think that the earthquake, tsunami and the situation at our nuclear reactors makes up the worst crisis in the 65 years since the war. If the nation works together, we will overcome.”

The government ordered 100,000 troops into relief roles in the field — nearly half the country’s active military force and the largest mobilization in postwar Japan. An American naval strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan also arrived off Japan on Sunday to help with refueling, supply and rescue duties.

Amid the despair and mourning, amid the worry over an unrelenting series of strong aftershocks, there was one bright moment on Sunday morning as Japanese naval forces rescued a 60-year-old man who had been riding the roof of his house for the past two days.

Hiromitsu Arakawa’s tiny home in the town of Minami-soma was torn from its foundations by the first wave of the tsunami that crashed ashore Friday afternoon, the defense ministry said. Mr. Arakawa saw his wife slip away in the deluge, and he clung to the roof as the house drifted away. He was discovered late Sunday morning, still on his roof, 9 miles south of his hometown and 9 miles out to sea.

The quake was the strongest ever to hit Japan, which sits astride the notorious “ring of fire” that marks the most violent seismic activity in the Pacific Basin. On Sunday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency “upgraded” the quake’s magnitude from 8.8 to 9.0, an effective doubling of its recorded power.Nuclear officials here at Fukushima shut down three reactors after the tsunami on Friday, but an explosion tore through the No. 1 reactor building on Saturday.

When the cooling system on the No. 3 reactor also began to fail Sunday, workers pumped seawater and boron into it. Yukio Edano, the government’s chief cabinet secretary, warned Sunday of the possibility of an explosion at No. 3 — and the chance of meltdowns at both reactors.

More than 200,000 people were evacuated from danger zones around two atomic facilities in Fukushima. Japanese officials reported that 19 people showed signs of radiation exposure and as many as another 141 were feared to have been exposed, including some who had been outside the plant waiting to be evacuated. . Three workers are suffering from full-on radiation sickness.

Northern Japan relies heavily on nuclear power for its electricity, and the government said it was instituting a series of rolling blackouts across the country starting Monday to make up for the diminished capacity from the reactor failures at Fukushima.

In a televised address, the trade minister, Banri Kaieda, asked businesses to limit their use of power as they returned to operation on Monday. He asked specifically for nighttime cutbacks of lights and heat.

Tokyo and central Japan continued to be struck by aftershocks from quakes off the eastern coast of Honshu Island, and United States agencies recorded 90 smaller quakes throughout the day Saturday. A long tremor registering 6.2 caused buildings in central Tokyo to sway dramatically on Sunday morning.

Search teams from more than a dozen nations were bound for Japan, including a unit from New Zealand, which suffered a devastating quake last month in Christchurch. A Japanese team that had been working in New Zealand also was called home.

A combined search squad from Los Angeles County and Fairfax County, Va., arrived from the United States with 150 personnel and a dozen sniffer dogs.

Assistance teams also were due from China and South Korea, two of Japan’s traditional and most bitter rivals. Tokyo’s acceptance of these offers of help —along with a parade of senior officials offering updates at televised news conferences on Sunday —was in marked contrast to government policies after the 1995 Kobe earthquake that killed more than 6,000 people. The government refused most offers of aid at the time, put restrictions on foreign aid operations and offered little information about the disaster.

Aerial photos on Sunday showed floodwaters receding from the runways at the airport in Sendai, the capital of Miyagi prefecture and perhaps the hardest hit of the coastal cities.

Sendai’s Web site recorded a grim list of the toll: 1.4 million homes without electricity, and 500,000 homes without water.

“The rescue is going on through the night, of course,” Michael Tonge, a teacher from Britain, said early Sunday morning from his home in Sendai.

No buildings had collapsed in his neighborhood, Mr. Tonge said, and people were not panicking — typical of a nation accustomed to order and schooled to stay calm and constructive.

“The few shops open have people queuing nicely,” he said, “with no pushing or fighting or anything.” He said he hoped the earthquake would not come to be known as the “Sendai quake.”

“I haven’t heard it being called the Sendai quake here, but if that’s what people are calling it, then that is unfortunate,” said Mr. Tonge, who lives there with his wife, Yuka, and their 3-year-old daughter, Aoi. “This is a beautiful city with nice people. A great place to live.”

Martin Fackler reported from Fukushima, Japan, and Mark McDonald from Tokyo. Moshe Komata and Hiroko Tabuchi contributed reporting from Tokyo.

via nytimes.com