2K Bodies Found in Battered Region of Japan

Some 2,000 bodies were found today on the coast of Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, adding to the confirmed quake death toll of 1,597, with 1,481 people confirmed missing. More than 1,000 bodies drifted ashore in the area, and another thousand were found in the town of Minamisanriku, where authorities remain unable to contact more than half the population, notes Kyodo News.

Reports, however, say that many may have fled to a nearby city. Another 200 to 300 bodies in Sendai, Miyagi’s capital, aren’t yet included in the official toll because authorities haven’t reached them. As some 450,000 people have evacuated six prefectures, food and water are tight at refuges; the government will begin airlifting supplies. Meanwhile, with a shortage expected, a Tokyo power company plans to ration power near the city for the first time. (More Japan stories.)