Doctors working at overwhelmed hospitals in the tsunami hit areas of Honshu were surprised to see so many hypothermia cases.

This is because most of the medical personnel were in “earthquake survivor” mode, meaning they were expecting conditions related only to the earthquake.  They did not think about “tsunami survivors”.  It is now clear that, despite the 9.0 quake, the victims coming into shelters and hospitals are suffering from the effects of the tsunami.

The water off Japan is cold, it is winter there.  The water in the Indian Ocean, where the 2004 Sumatra tsunami hit, is much warmer so hypothermia did not become a major issue there.

Dozens of people died after being take to emergency shelters, probably from hypothermia, because the shelters were NOT prepared for what happened.