Day 82: Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

More than 10,000 people were killed, thousands are missing, and 200,000 are displaced after an 9-magnitude earthquake – the biggest in the country’s history – struck Japan and triggered a massive tsunami. Official estimates of the death count from the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan on Friday have remained around 1,000, but reports suggest that the toll could climb much higher.

In the coastal Miyagi prefecture town of Minamisanriku, 9,500 people out of a population of 17,000 are unaccounted for, according to prefectural authorities. Illustrating the size of the tidal wave that struck Minamisanriku, a reporter for the Yomiuri newspaper who reached the town reports seeing a buoy snarled on the roof of a three-story building, one of the few left standing.

We could hear many more stories like that in the next few days. The overall picture of the destruction remains patchy, with rescue workers unable to reach some of the worst-hit areas due to wrecked roads and tsunami warnings.

AmeriCares emergency team has been on full alert mobilizing resources and has dispatched a disaster relief expert to the region to assess medical needs.  AmeriCares is prepared to send medicines, medical supplies and humanitarian aid as necessary.     

The earthquake and tsunami struck in tandem causing structural damage to homes, office building, factories, power plants and highways.  Nuclear power plants in the region have automatically shut down. Thousands of residents in a two-mile radius of the Fukushima nuclear plant about 170 miles north of Tokyo have been evacuated as the government declared a state of emergency.  So far no radiation leaks have been detected.  

For more than 25 years, the success of AmeriCares has been characterized by timely response, meaningful impact, high integrity and intense passion for the work. To deliver medicine, relief supplies and health care to the needy, AmeriCares has developed a platform based on strategic partnerships, high-efficiency and tight auditing procedures.

Since its founding, AmeriCares has provided more than $10 Billion of aid to 147 countries. To accomplish these results, AmeriCares assembles product donations from the private sector, determines the most urgent needs and solicits the funding to send the aid via airlift or ocean cargo to health and welfare professionals in the indigent locations.

Donation: $5

To msupport America Cares, please visit:  http://www.americares.org/