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Japan Earthquake 2011: Photographs Of The Humanitarian Crisis

Photos Of The Humanitarian Crisis In Japan
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Rescue workers in Japan's devastated northeast had to contend with a blanket of heavy snow as they went about their relief efforts Wednesday morning, adding to the list of woes endured by the area worst hit by last week's deadly earthquake and tsunami.

As Reuters is reporting, firefighters and relief teams continued to sift through massive mounds of rubble, hoping to find any sign of life in water-logged wastelands where homes and factories once stood. Unfortunately for desperate family members and friends, the snow weakens chances of finding loved ones alive.

"People are still working, the army is out here," said Patrick Fuller of the International Red Cross Federation. "But the fire service has taken off because they are worried they won't get back to their base because of the snow."

View live updates from Japan here.

View photos of survivors and the ongoing relief efforts below:

Japan Earthquake Aftermath
(01 of20)
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Evacuees carry bowls of soup back to their makeshift shelter in Minamisanriku, northern Japan. (credit:AP)
(02 of20)
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Firefighters search for survivors in the snow in Minamisanriku, northern Japan. (credit:AP)
(03 of20)
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Members of a British search and rescue team climb over debris from the tsunami. (credit:AP)
(04 of20)
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Members of a British search and rescue team begin their search for trapped people as snow falls in Kamaishi. (credit:AP)
(05 of20)
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Survivors walk in the snow after checking on what was left of their properties in tsunami devastated Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture. (credit:Getty)
(06 of20)
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Members of a British search and rescue team climb over debris from the tsunami while searching for trapped people as snow falls in Kamaishi. (credit:AP)
(07 of20)
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British search and rescue team member Rob Furniss and his search dog Byron walk over tsunami debris as they search for survivors in Kamaishi. (credit:AP)
(08 of20)
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Reiko Miura, 68, cries as she looks for her sister's son at a tsunami-hit area in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture. (credit:AP)
(09 of20)
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Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel conduct a search operation following the March 11 huge earthquake triggered tsunami at Natori, Miyagi Prefecture. (credit:AP)
(10 of20)
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A rescuer conducts search operation in Minamisanriku, Miyagi. (credit:AP)
(11 of20)
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A boy waits in a line in front of a gas station in Kamaishi. (credit:AP)
(12 of20)
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Local people arrange a blanket to keep warm in a school gymnasium being used as a center for people to stay at whose homes were damaged by the tsunami in Ofunato. (credit:AP)
(13 of20)
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Braving snow, rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble of tsunami-stricken town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture. (credit:AP)
(14 of20)
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Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel conduct a search operation. (credit:AP)
(15 of20)
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Survivors read newspapers in Otsuchi, northern Japan. (credit:AP)
(16 of20)
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Smoke billows from the No. 3 unit among four housings cover four reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in Okumamachi, Fukushima Prefecture. (credit:AP)
(17 of20)
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A rescuer and accompanying dog search for missing residents amidst debris in Natori, Miyagi. (credit:AP)
(18 of20)
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A dog with its master while waiting for water at a distribution point in Ofunato. (credit:Getty)
(19 of20)
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People wait to fill containers at a water distribution point in Ofunato. (credit:Getty)
(20 of20)
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Police officers carry the body of a victim in Rikuzentakata, Miyagi. (credit:AP)

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