SENDAI (Kyodo) Child welfare officials have launched an extensive search for children who have either been orphaned or are missing in parts of Tohoku ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Their efforts are being hindered by the scale of the destruction and the lack of administrative services in many areas.

Search efforts moved into full swing Saturday in Iwate, one of the prefectures worst hit along with Miyagi and Fukushima, which are expected to soon request that the specialists come in.