Rescue Efforts Bring Full Scope of Earthquake Damage into Focus

Death tolls reached a staggering 1,600 this Sunday as rescue workers continued their efforts to find nearly 1,500 still missing in Japan. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake which hit Friday ignited a series of tsunamis on both the east and west coasts, going down as a the strongest quake on record since 1900, according to U.S. Geological Survey.

Rescue teams arrived Sunday from Los Angeles and Fairfax, Va. 15,000 have been rescued. 1,900 were injured, and more casualties are expected in the coming days due to the chance of a 7.0 quake, likely the result of increased tetonic plate activity. In addition, the violent aftershocks can cause as much, if not more damage than the actual earthquake. Floods have destroyed coastal cities like Sendai and Minami Sanriku, the latter of which still have half its population missing.

Meanwhile, hundreds living north of Tokyo have had to face a possible outbreak of nuclear radiation after a coolant system at a power plant at Fukushima Daiichi were disabled. 200,000 were evacuated and 160 were tested for radiation poisoning. 11 workers were injured at the plant, according to CNN.

The United States, the European Union, and at least 48 other nations have sent aid to Japan.

Raw citizen footage was captured and uploaded to the Internet just minutes after the earthquake initally hit Friday. Youtube.com was a prime place to see first-hand accounts of the damage to homes, supermarkets, and other public places. Relatives in the United States and elsewhere waited days to reach family and friends in Japan, due to the communication problems and power outages across the country.