The National Police Agency said Saturday that the catastrophic earthquake and ensuing tsunami that took place on March 11 have left 7,197 people dead and 10,905 others unaccounted for in Japan by 9:00 a.m.(0000 GMT) Saturday, Xinhua reported.
Around 380,000 evacuees are now living in shelters in eight prefectures, including the worst-hit Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate prefectures, said the agency.
Separately, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said that up to 100,300 houses have been destroyed or partially damaged since the disaster occurred Friday.
A lack of food, drinking water, medicine and fuel has been a common problem in quake-hit areas, where supplies of essential resources have been wiped out and communications infrastructures crippled.
A 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific coastal areas of northeastern and eastern Japan, triggering enormous tsunami. Heavy casualties and extensive damage have been caused in the disaster.