SAPPORO, Japan, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Like many residents in the coastal towns flattened by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan, Ueno, masked and silent, walks in the debris of what used to be his home in Ofunato.
Around him, crushed cars and boats are jumbled with destroyed trees, utility poles and wooden building frames. Ueno hopes to find something that could help him piece together his life in memory although his home was swept away by the tsunami, the strongest ever recorded in Japan's history. To his disappointment, he found nothing.
Ofunato is one of the hardest hit towns in Iwate prefecture in the earthquake and tsunami that killed untold thousands on Japan's northeastern coast and left many more without shelter and electricity in freezing temperatures.
Survivors in emergency shelter like Ueno and his family members -- his wife, two children and parents -- are relying on a diminishing stock of food like bread and onigiri -- traditional Japanese food made from rice and formed into triangular or oval shapes.
In nearby towns, residents line up in cars outside gas stations hoping to fill the tank. Others have already snapped up food and household items in local grocery stores. The heavy snowfall in the quake-hit area on Wednesday has put additional stress on the government's relief efforts.
Japan's public broadcaster NHK said more than 100,000 buildings had been damaged, including at least 7,400 that were completely destroyed. Authorities said some 850,000 households in the north were still without electricity and at least 1.5 million households lacked running water.
