10K dead in Japan and the Numbers Continue to Rise!

Japan's death toll from the devastating 8.9 earthquake and 10 meter tall tsunami that hit Sendai in March 11, 2011 has reached 10k (estimates) and the numbers continue to rise. The Nuke Meltdown in Japan is also posing another threat to Japan and other neighboring countries.  Could this be the end of the world? Devastating photos from this horrible catastrophe are found below.

woman cries as she looks for her missing husband in Minamisanriku town, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan

Courtesy of AP via Yahoo

SENDAI, Japan – The estimated death toll from Japan's disasters climbed past 10,000 Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns and hundreds of thousands of people struggled to find food and water. The prime minister said it was the nation's worst crisis since World War II.


Nuclear plant operators worked frantically to try to keep temperatures down in several reactors crippled by the earthquake and tsunami, wrecking at least two by dumping sea water into them in last-ditch efforts to avoid meltdowns. Officials warned of a second explosion but said it would not pose a health threat.


Near-freezing temperatures compounded the misery of survivors along hundreds of miles (kilometers) of the northeastern coast battered by the tsunami that smashed inland with breathtaking fury. Rescuers pulled bodies from mud-covered jumbles of wrecked houses, shattered tree trunks, twisted cars and tangled power lines while survivors examined the ruined remains.


One rare bit of good news was the rescue of a 60-year-old man swept away by the tsunami who clung to the roof of his house for two days until a military vessel spotted him waving a red cloth about 10 miles (15 kilometers) offshore.


The death toll surged because of a report from Miyagi, one of the three hardest hit states. The police chief told disaster relief officials more than 10,000 people were killed, police spokesman Go Sugawara told The Associated Press. That was an estimate — only 400 people have been confirmed dead in Miyagi, which has a population of 2.3 million.


According to officials, more than 1,800 people were confirmed dead — including 200 people whose bodies were found Sunday along the coast — and more than 1,400 were missing in Friday's disasters. Another 1,900 were injured.

For Japan, one of the world's leading economies with ultramodern infrastructure, the disasters plunged ordinary life into nearly unimaginable deprivation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake

Here are some of the disturbing images resulting from this major catastrophe: