15 March 2011

Veritas CXXVII

Today's Truth:  By the Numbers:

A look at some key figures relating to Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit northern Japan, triggering a tsunami that caused widespread devastation and crippled a nuclear power plant:
9.0: Magnitude of the earthquake that struck off the coast of northeastern Japan Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and Japanese officials, revised from the USGS’s earlier estimate of 8.9. The new reading means the quake is tied for fourth on the U.S. survey's list of strongest earthquakes since 1900.
9.5: Magnitude of the world's largest recorded quake, which took place in Chile on May 22, 1960, according to the USGS.
8: Estimated number of feet that Japan’s main island shifted as a result of the earthquake.
2,475: The official death toll in Japan as of Tuesday morning, according to Japanese authorities. The number of dead is expected to go up as rescuers reach more hard-hit areas.
3,118: Number of people officially missing as of Tuesday morning, according to Japan’s National Police Agency.
9,500: Number of people unofficially estimated to be unaccounted for in the town of Minami Sanriku alone as of Sunday.
17,000: Number of people who normally live in Minami Sanriku.
450,000: Number of people living in shelters as of Monday, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.
15,000: Number of people who have been rescued since the earthquake and the tsunami by Monday, according to Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, citing Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
200,000: Rough number of people – living near the distressed Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture – who have been ordered to evacuate because of radiation concerns at the plant, where three reactors' cooling systems have been damaged.
2.5 million: Estimated number of households without electricity as of Sunday, according to Ichiro Fujisaki, Japan’s U.S. ambassador.
45 million: Estimated number of people in Japan who will be affected by intentional, rolling power outages - designed to offset a power shortfall caused by damaged power plants - that are scheduled to last until April 8, according to Tokyo Electric Power.
$100 billion: Minimum estimate of losses of the quake, tsunami and fires, including $20 billion in damage to residences and $40 billion in damage to infrastructure such as roads, rail and port facilities, according to catastrophe modeling firm Eqecat.
$15 billion to $35 billion: Estimated amount of losses caused by the earthquake alone that may be covered by insurance, according to AIR Worldwide.
14% to 17%: The estimated amount of Japanese businesses and homeowners with earthquake insurance, according to AIR Worldwide.
91: Number of countries and regions that have offered post-quake assistance to Japan as of Monday, in addition to six international organizations, according to the Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry.
$23 million: Donations to help Japan as of Monday, according to an early tally by the American Red Cross and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a newspaper covering nonprofit organizations.