One week after Japan was rocked by a powerful earthquake and tsunami, the toll from the twin disasters has soared to more than 7,200 people dead and 10,900 missing.
According to the National Police Agency on Saturday, 7,197 people are now confirmed dead, and 10,905 are still missing -- for a total of 18,102.
The still-rising number represents the deadliest incident in Japan since the end of the Second World War in 1945.
To mark the one week milestone on Friday, evacuees, rescuers and officials in the hard-hit prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. local time -- exactly one week after the magnitude-9 quake hit northeastern and eastern Japan.
Kyodo News Agency reported that some 90,000 rescue workers have managed to reach about 26,000 survivors.
But with the more than 10,000 missing, the toll could still climb much higher. It's likely that many of the missing were sucked out to sea by the tsunami, and their bodies may never be found.
Meanwhile, infrastructure such as roads, airports and ports is finally being repaired, and the flow of supplies is slowly beginning to be restored to areas that were previously cut off.
Sendai airport, which was submerged in the tsunami, is once again dry and being used by helicopters and airplanes on relief missions.
Still, the challenges remain immense with hundreds of thousands displaced, and with thousands of homes and even entire towns completely destroyed.
On Friday, Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai offered "non binding" encouragement to quake survivors to consider moving to other prefectures where more housing is available.
"Living conditions will improve if they move to other prefectures," he told reporters. "It is a nonbinding request. I hope people affected by the quake will co-operate."
The Japanese government reported Friday that the quake and tsunami caused roughly 269 fires, destroyed 11,991 houses and damaged 1,232 sections of road.
