US News

Counting living among the dead

Japan raised its dead-and-missing toll to more than 13,000 yesterday — as the US prepared a mass evacuation of Americans.

Despite the official casualty figure, the Red Cross said it’s impossible to tell exactly who survived because even satellite phones don’t work in the hardest-hit areas.

“Some people are alive and can’t say it,” said Philippe Stoll of the International Red Cross.

PHOTOS: FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR PLANT

He told the BBC that some of the collapses in communication are because people no longer memorize phone numbers.

“I don’t know how many of the phone numbers saved on your mobile phone you know by heart. How do you reach someone whose number you have in the mobile you lost?” he said.

The death toll is certain to rise further, officials said.

The mayor of the coastal city of Ishinomaki told Kyodo News Agency that 10,000 of the 164,000 residents remain missing, five days after the earthquake and tsunami. At least 850,000 households in the north remain without power in freezing temperatures.

In the town of Rikuzentakata, where half the population is missing, Yoshie Murakami burst into tears when she found her mother buried in the rubble of their former home.

Murakami, whose 23-year-old daughter is among the missing, held her mother’s hands one last time.

Rescue workers as well as relatives are refusing to give up.

“Today and tomorrow there is still hope that we will find survivors,” said Pete Stevenson, head of British rescue crews. “We’ll just keep on carrying out the searches.”

Trying to contain the chaos are 80,000 members of the Japanese military, police and fire departments. For the first time since Japan’s Self-Defense Forces was created in 1954, the government called up 10,000 reservists, the Kyodo News agency reported.

President Obama spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan about the growing crisis as the State Department chartered planes for mass evacuations.

An estimated 1,300 Americans were in northern Japan when the quake and tsunami struck. There’s no word on whether any of them are among the dead or missing.

The US said Americans should avoid all non-essential travel to Japan.

It warned those already there, including military personnel, to stay 50 miles away from the radiation-spewing Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

Japan says a 13-mile zone is enough distance.

The exodus of foreigners accelerated as Australia, Britain and Germany also advised their citizens in Japan to leave.

More than 3,000 Chinese have already been evacuated from Japan’s northeast to Niigata on the western coast, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In other developments:

* Japan’s revered 77-year-old Emperor Akihito, in a rare TV speech, said, “The number of people killed is increasing day by day, and we do not know how many people have fallen victim. I pray for the safety of as many people as possible.

“I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times.”

* After plunging on opening, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was down 1 percent during mid-day trading. The Japanese yen, conversely, soared in value, reaching a record postwar high against the dollar.

The Group of Seven nations will meet today to try to calm the volatile markets.

* The body blow to the Japanese economy is having a ripple effect in America, because some companies rely on supplies from Japan.

Subaru has suspended overtime at its only North American plant, in Lafayette, Ind. Toyota, too has canceled overtime and suspended Saturday production at its 13 North American plants to conserve supplies.

Among the Japanese auto plants damaged by the quake was one that supplies parts for hybrid batteries in the Toyota Prius, Camry and Lexus. It’s unclear when the plant will start running again.

Also, the Wi-Fi version of the iPad uses a Toshiba chip, according to analysis by iFixit.com. Since Toshiba was forced to shut its factories, the supply of chips for Apple could be disrupted, and iPad shipments would be delayed.

* The White House said US food inspectors will ensure the safety of food imports from Japan.

andy.soltis@nypost.com