In Japan, the number of people confirmed dead or listed as missing has surpassed 24,000, 12 days after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck the country's northeast coast. There are fears of a much higher toll from the disaster, which flattened entire towns along the Pacific coast of northern Honshu island. The National Police Agency on Wednesday said 9,408 people had been confirmed dead and 14,716 officially listed as missing as a result of the March 11 catastrophe. A total of 2,746 people have been injured. The quake has become Japan's deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 142,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and have taken shelter in evacuation facilities.