for long-term displacement, many people (mostly sick and elderly) died at an increased rate while in temporary housing and shelters. degraded living conditions and separation from support networks are likely contributing factors. , the fukushima prefecture government counted 2,129 "disaster-related deaths" in the prefecture. this value exceeds the number that have died in fukushima prefecture directly from the earthquake and tsunami. "disaster-related deaths" are deaths attributed to disasters and are not caused by direct physical trauma, but does not distinguish between people displaced by the nuclear disaster compared to the earthquake / tsunami. as of year 2016, among those deaths, 1368 have been listed as "related to the nuclear power plant" according to media analysis. reports have pointed out that many of these deaths may have been caused by the evacuation period being too long, and that residents could have been allowed to return to their homes earlier in order to reduce the total related death toll.