A tsunami victim in Ishimaki in the Miyagi region was found alive today after having been trapped under the rubble for 96 hours.

The rescue was broadcast on state television, giving the nation and rescue teams hope of finding more survivors.

The official death toll currently stands at 2,400, however, with many victims still missing the actual figure is expected to go far beyond that number.

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“It’s a miracle if it turns out to be less than 10,000,’ said Hery Harjono, a senior geologist with the Indonesian Science Institute.

World Vision Representative Mitsuko Sobata, who currently is based at the Toyko office of the charity described the scenes on the road through Sendai.

She said: “Standing there, the scale of the disaster really hit me. To think, so many communities washed away, so many thousands of people. It was so much to take in. And the worst thing was that it was so quiet. Too quiet”.

Sobata’s team is hoping to take thousands of blankets and bottled water to the disaster area Tome.

“They say that it’s 6,000 people who have lost their homes and are staying at temporary places like communities or schools,” Sobata said.

“When we went to the government centre we saw many people looking so tired. Sleeping on pieces of cardboard with nothing left, but the clothes they were wearing. On the walls, there was note after note from people who’ve lost families.”