Man rescued 8 days after massive quake in Japan

2011-03-19 10:03:21

TOKYO, March 19 (Xinhua) -- A man was rescued Saturday morning from a partially collapsed house in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, eight days after the massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan's northeastern coast, Kyodo News said, citing the Self-Defense Forces.

The man in his 20s was identified as Katsuharu Moriya. He has been sent to a hospital, the report said.

On March 11, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific coastal areas of northeastern and eastern Japan, triggering enormous tsunami. Heavy casualties and extensive damage have been caused in the disaster.

Japan's National Police Agency said Saturday that the catastrophic earthquake and ensuing tsunami have left 7,197 people dead and 10,905 others unaccounted for in Japan by 9:00 a.m. local time Saturday.

According to local media reports, a total of 90,000 Self- Defense Forces members, police and firefighters continued their rescue and relief operations, having rescued about 26,000 disaster victims stranded in quake- and tsunami-stricken areas.

Around 16,000 others were still stranded in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, according to the Japanese government.

The National Police Agency said earlier that around 370,000 evacuees are now living in 2,100 emergency shelters.

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