Japan: Humanity First rolls into action to respond to the earthquake devastation

A Humanity First team in Japan from Nagoya have now established a base camp in Fukushima from where they will be distributing food, water and blankets to the displaced. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Humanity First | UK
By HF / Ahmadiyya Times | March 12, 2011
Updated:  AT | March 13, 2011

Humanity First Japan has assembled and dispatched a team of volunteers to Sendai, the town which has suffered the most damage as a result of the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan.

The team is carrying food items for distribution and will work to establish a soup/tea kitchen.

An earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale hit Japan on Friday March 11, resulting in a tsunami that struck the Japanese coast as well as the shorelines of neighboring countries.


The tsunami triggered by the earthquake traveled eastward and reached as far away as Hawaii and the West Coast of the United Stated where serious damages were reported in coastal communities.

The epicenter of the earthquake was off the coast of Honshu Japan and was approximately 15 miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

The human causalities are estimated to be in the tens of thousands.

The city of Sendai with a population of a million was badly hit, with hundreds of bodies lying in the streets.

According the latest estimates by relief organizations and the media reports, over 10,000 are missing and presumed dead in towns such as Minamisanriku and Rikuzentakata.

Entire coastal villages have been swept out to sea and the death-toll is likely to rise significantly as the true picture emerges in the coming days.

The authorities have confirmed that 4 trains are missing along the coast network, a ship with 100 on board has been swept away, a dam has burst in Fukushima taking many homes with it.

At least one million people have been displaced either from the tsunami or from the later nuclear exclusion zone in Fukushima, the authorities have confirmed.

People are being sheltered in several thousand evacuation centers and the hospitals are overwhelmed in dealing with various trauma cases being flown in from outlying areas by helicopters.

Transport, telecommunications and utilities have been badly affected.

A Humanity First team in Japan from Nagoya have now established a base camp in Fukushima from where they will be distributing food, water and blankets to the displaced.

"The demand is for shelter, blankets, hot food and water," said Humanity First in its web-post. “HF is not sending medical teams at this stage unless requested.”

The eartquake come just weeks after the earthquake that struck New Zealand where the local Humanity First - NZ team is now operating to provide support facilities in Christchurch and surrounding areas.

-- HF / Ahmadiyya Times

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