The death toll in Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami reached 9,079.

According to National Police Agency of Japan, as of March 22, at 12:00 local time over 5,500 people were killed in Miyagi prefecture and 2,700 in Iwate prefecture. Over 12,465 people are listed missing, Interfax reports.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, on March 11, the biggest earthquake (9 magnitude) in the recent years hit the northeast of Japan, triggering a 10-meter tsunami and followed by several powerful aftershocks. The epicenter is located 373 to north-east from Japan’s capital, Tokyo at the depth of 24 kilometers. A massive earthquake damaged cooling functions of the Fukushima nuclear plant, making the operator to pour seawater into reactors and let out radioactive air into atmosphere.  On March 19-21, traces of radiation were found in milk and spinach in farms near Ibaraki prefecture.