The quake and resulting tsunami left behind a known death toll of more than 200 people by early Saturday, but that number was expected to climb sharply.

CNN: Quake survivors look for loved ones in hard-hit area

Searchers recovered two bodies Thursday from the wreckage of the collapsed Mississippi River bridge, authorities said, bringing the known death toll from the Aug. 1 disaster to seven.

NPR: Officials Warn of Possible Flaw in Nation's Bridges

The Emergencies Ministry said 53 people were known to have died, although the Russian public broadcaster ORT put the known death toll at 65, and Interfax news agency said up to 70 people were confirmed dead.

BBC: Russian flood deaths mount

But the precise death toll may never be known.

ECONOMIST: When the sea turned on the land

The problem is that the death toll is still too small, and far too little is known about the length of the incubation period, to rule out an epidemic.

ECONOMIST: Mad-cow disease