YAMAMOTO, Miyagi Pref. — Quake survivors in a remote Miyagi Prefecture town are faced with a problem not encountered by the survivors of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake — a shortage of gasoline, a commodity essential for daily life in rural areas.
A resident of the town of Yamamoto who had gone to a morgue to look for missing relatives expressed despair at the prospect of having to abandon her search for lack of gasoline for her car.
"Police showed me many photos of victims. But I cannot find my family members," the woman, who identified herself only as Tamura, said. "I don't know if I can come here again. I'm almost out of gas."