After jolt,the rush to rescue

Death toll at 1700; rescuers yet to reach worst-hit areas; over 3,00,000 people displaced.

MARTIN FACKLER

Rescuers struggled to reach survivors on Saturday as Japan reeled after an earthquake and a tsunami struck in deadly tandem. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake set off a devastating tsunami that sent walls of water washing over coastal cities in the north.

Entire villages in parts of Japans northern Pacific coast have vanished under a wall of water,many communities are cut off. Japanese news media estimates placed the death toll at 1,700,but much of the north was impassible and by late Saturday,rescuers had not arrived in the worst-hit areas. More than 3,00,000 people have been displaced and reports said the country experienced 125 aftershocks.

Vasily V Titov,director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Centre for Tsunami Research,said that coastal areas closest to the centre of the earthquake probably had about 15 to 30 minutes before the first wave struck. In Japan,the public is among the best educated in the world about earthquakes and tsunamis, he said. But its still not enough time. Complicating the issue,he added,is that the flat terrain would have made it difficult for people to reach higher,and thus safer,ground.

By Saturday morning,Japan was filled with scenes of desperation,as stranded survivors called for help and rescuers searched for people buried in the rubble. Kazushige Itabashi,an official in Natori City,one of the areas hit hardest by the tsunami,said several districts in an area near Sendais airport were annihilated.

Analysts estimated that total insured losses from the quake could hit $15 billion,Reuters reported. Even as estimates of the death toll from Fridays quake rose,Japans prime minister,Naoto Kan,said 50,000 troops would be mobilised for the increasingly desperate rescue recovery effort. Kan said the quake and tsunami caused major damage across wide areas. Fridays quake was centered off the coast of Honshu,the most populous of the Japanese islands.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the US military was waiting to help . The Pentagon positioned at least six Navy ships for relief. Some 68 search and rescue teams from 45 countries were on standby,but the United Nations was awaiting a green light from authorities in Japan. South Korea is initially sending 40 emergency rescue officials who are on standby. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Beijing was ready to provide Japan with necessary assistance.