TOKYO (MNI) – The government said on Friday that the massive damage
inflicted by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami on Japan’s northeastern
Pacific coast is estimated at Y16.9 trillion ($201 billion), confirming
it as the costliest natural disaster in the country’s post-war history.
The latest estimate is based on reports from nine prefectures and
17 government departments but it does not include any damage, mainly on
farm produce and fish, caused by radiation leaks from the quake-hit
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
In March, the Cabinet Office said the damage would total in a range
of Y16 trillion to Y25 trillion, which would exceed the toll of around
Y9.6 trillion from the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which hit the western
Japanese port city of Kobe on Jan. 17, 1995.
In the latest estimate, damage on houses, offices and factories are
estimated to total about Y10.4 trillion.
Damage on utilities and communications systems is estimated at
around Y1.3 trillion, while that on roads and ports is seen at around
Y2.2 trillion.
Damage on agricultural, forestry and fishery facilities is
estimated to total about Y1.9 trillion, that on schools and hospitals at
around Y1.1 trillion.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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