Monthly Archives: March 2011

Resources related to the 2011 Japan Crisis

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On March 11 at 2:46pm JST a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred near the northeastern coast of Japan, creating extremely destructive tsunami waves which hit Japan just minutes after the earthquake, and triggering evacuations and warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake and tsunami have caused extensive and severe damage in Northeastern Japan, leaving thousands of people confirmed dead, injured or missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation.

“Resources related to the 2011 Japan Crisis”

is being updated continuously to provide the latest information about this crisis, resources for those affected, and ways to contribute to relief efforts in Japan.

Missing U.S. teacher’s body located in Ishinomaki

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RICHMOND, Va — A Virginia couple is mourning the death of their daughter after learning that her body was found in disaster-ravaged Japan, where she had been teaching English.

Taylor Anderson, 24, could be the first known American victim in the Japan disaster as authorities continue the daunting task of finding and identifying almost 13,000 people believed to be missing.

Anderson’s family said in a statement that the U.S. Embassy in Japan called them Monday to tell them her body was found in Ishinomaki, a city about 390 kilometers north of Tokyo.

Officials with the U.S. Embassy in Japan and the State Department could not immediately confirm whether she was the first known U.S. victim in Japan. A 25-year-old man is presumed dead after being swept into the ocean March 11 by a swell from the tsunami on the northern California coast.

“We would like to thank all those whose prayers and support have carried us through this crisis,” said Andy and Jean Anderson, who live in Chesterfield County south of Richmond. “Please continue to pray for all who remain missing and for the people of Japan. We ask that that you respect our privacy during this hard time.”

Jean Anderson said her daughter was last seen after the earthquake riding her bike away from an Ishinomaki elementary school after making sure parents picked up their children. A tsunami struck shortly after the earthquake, completely wiping out homes and other structures.

Friends and relatives used Facebook and other social networks to spread the word about the search for Taylor. Officials first told the family last Tuesday that their daughter had been located, but the Andersons learned that night that the information was incorrect.

Taylor Anderson had a lifelong love of Japan and began studying the language in middle school. She moved overseas after graduating from Randolph-Macon College in 2008 to teach in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme.

She taught in eight schools in Ishinomaki, in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan’s northeast coast. During her stay there she developed a love for her students and for the Japanese people, her mother said.

She was scheduled to return to the United States in August.

B.C. officials try to ease fears over radiation from Japan

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VANCOUVER — B.C.’s top medical officer says British Columbians should not worry about radiation from the Japanese nuclear power plant reaching North American shores.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall said there is no expected health risk from the radiation, in a statement released Monday.

Kendall noted that nuclear particles would take five to six days to reach B.C. from Japan, by which time it would be so dispersed it would not be considered a health risk.

“Based on present information, we do not expect any health risk following the nuclear reactor releases in Japan, nor is the consumption of potassium iodide tablets a necessary precaution,” he said.

Kendall also said there have been reports of a run on sales of the tablets, which can protect the thyroid gland from high-levels of radioactive iodine 131.

But he stressed that pharmacies do not need to stockpile the tablets, nor do people need to take them.

B.C. officials are in contact with Health Canada and other U.S. and world health agencies to monitor radiation levels, said Kendall.

He said as of Monday, there have been no reports of nuclear particles from the facility in Japan reaching the west coast of North America.

Japan’s nuclear safety agency says a third explosion in four days at the earthquake-damaged nuclear plant may have damaged a containment vessel and a radiation leak is feared.

Help Japan – Donate to the Red Cross (link)

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Do what you can to help!

Your gift to the American Red Cross will support disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

On those rare occasions when donations exceed American Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters.

Help Japan Red CrossVisit the Red Cross website and donate a little bit to do your part.

Other ways to give

8.8-Magnitude Earthquake !!!

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An earthquake with a historic magnitude of 8.8 rocked the Tohoku region Friday, triggering tsunami that wiped away cars, ships and buildings all along the east coast.

earthquake japanSmoke and flames billow from a Cosmo Oil refinery in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, later in the afternoon following a quake-triggered explosion. KYODO PHOTO

The massive quake was felt strongest in Miyagi Prefecture, where it came in at 7, the maximum reading on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, the Meteorological Agency said.

Police said at least 64 people died across an extensive area of eastern Japan ranging from Iwate and Miyagi prefectures in the northeast to Tokyo. The 2:46 p.m. quake also set off fires at scores of locations, as well as a huge refinery inferno in Chiba Prefecture.

The quake was felt hundreds of kilometers away, including in Tokyo, where buildings swayed for a long time and people swarmed out of them.

The temblor is the strongest ever to hit the quake-prone archipelago, the Meteorological Agency said, with a magnitude surpassing the 7.9 registered in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake in Tokyo and its vicinity, which left more than 140,000 people dead.