Akhir 19, 1432 H/March 24, 2011, SPA -- The main ship in Japan's whaling fleet is to transport supplies to areas affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, media reports said Thursday, according to dpa. The Nisshin Maru is to deliver a cargo including kerosene, charcoal fuel and noodles, the Kyodo News agency reported, citing the ship's captain Tomoyuki Ogawa. "We want to deliver the supplies to areas such as isolated remote islands," he said. The March 11 earthquake caused a 23.6-metre-high tsunami in parts of north-east Japan, a survey confirmed Thursday. The giant wave hit the town of Ofunato in Iwate prefecture following the magnitude-9 earthquake, the Port and Airport Research Institute said. Police said that the confirmed death toll in the earthquake and tsunami disasters stood at 9,737 at 3 pm (0600 GMT). A further 16,501 people were reported missing. Another quake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck the north-east, the Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage and the agency did not issue a tsunami warning. The epicentre of the 5:21 pm (0821 GMT) quake was off the coast of Iwate Prefecture. A magnitude-4.9 aftershock hit the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo at 8:56 am (2356 GMT Wednesday), but no tsunami warning was issued. Construction work on temporary housing began in Kamaishi city in Iwate prefecture. Building work was due to begin on similar housing in Ofunato and Miyako, also in Iwate, on Friday. The Tohoku Expressway, a major road linking Tokyo and the quake- and tsunami-hit areas in the north-east of the country, reopened to all traffic Thursday. It was previously limited to emergency vehicles and those transporting relief goods and workers.
