Casualties and Damages

Police: Japan death toll to top 18,000

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-03-21 10:58

Ichiko Hirayama tells about her experience as she stands in the ruins of her home in the destroyed residential part of Ofunato more than a week after the area was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami March 20, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

TOKYO - Police officials estimate that the toll from the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami will exceed 18,000 deaths.

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The police spokesman of one of the hardest hit prefectures, Miyagi, said Monday that estimated deaths there will top 15,000. Police in other devastated areas declined to provide estimates of eventual death tolls, but said the confirmed deaths in their areas already number more than 3,300.

The National Police Agency says that overall the number of bodies collected so far stood at 8,649, while 12,877 people were listed as missing. It is possible those two lists have some overlap, and that unidentified bodies in the tally of deaths may match names on the missing list once their identities are confirmed.