US Red Cross chief struck by tsunami's destruction

TOKYO – The head of the American Red Cross, who has visited earthquake zones in Haiti and China, said Thursday that she was overwhelmed by the "miles and miles" of devastation along Japan's tsunami-battered northeastern coast.

"The (power of the) ocean was just furious. Everything we saw was strewn in small pieces," Gail McGovern said in an interview with The Associated Press at the headquarters of the Japanese Red Cross Society. "When you start walking around, you can see a doll or a kid's bicycle or a teacup. It just strikes home that this is so personal."

Wrapping up a four-day visit to Japan, McGovern said the $187 million received in donations and pledges from the American public for tsunami relief is being used initially to buy essential household appliances for people who lost their homes and are now living in temporary housing.

Gail McGovern, the chief executive officer and president of the American Red Cross looks at a map of affected area in Japan.

Read the whole story
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110428/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake_red_cross_3


・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

Australian PM 1st foreign leader to visit tsunami-hit area

SENDAI —

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Saturday visited a Japanese coastal town devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, becoming the first foreign leader to travel to the disaster-hit area.

Her visit to Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, accompanied by Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, followed the deployment there from March 16 to 19 of 75 rescue workers and two search dogs from Australia.

Gillard was briefed by Minamisanirku Mayor Jin Sato on how he survived the disaster at the town’s disaster prevention office building, which was reduced to its frame by the tsunami. A local photographer took a picture of Sato and other officials clinging to the top of the structure while the tsunami engulfed the three-story building.

Gillard also visited a gymnasium being used as a makeshift shelter accommodating about 340 survivors and gave stuffed toy koalas and kangaroos to children, who in return handed her folded paper cranes—symbols of peace.

Recalling her impressions when she saw her first images of the disaster on television, Gillard said she found the scale of the devastation amazing. But she added that nothing compared with seeing the disaster zone at first hand. ‘‘It is miraculous that anyone survived such devastation,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s been amazing to see the spirit of the people…even in such difficult, difficult circumstances,’’ Gillard said, referring to the cheerful atmosphere in the shelter where both children and adults greeted her in English.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, accompanied by her partner Tim Mathieson (to her right), holds baby Iori Sato, who was born in March 26, during their visit to an evacuation center in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, on Saturday. Gillard is the first foreign leader to visit one of the areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Read the whole story
http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/australian-pm-1st-foreign-leader-to-visit-tsunami-hit-area

・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

Fukushima Victims: Many cows and animals are dying...

I saw a very shocking news footage on TV  just now.
Many cows are dying with no food, water, and care.

I knew of the situation from other news sources here and there, but seeing them with your own eyes.... My heart aches so much.

I know that the top priority should be placed on saving human lives, but.... still cannot help thinking that some measures could have been taken for these innocent animals who could not voice their needs.  Be it transferring to other farms or even euthanizing...

"These animals are part of my family," says a livestock farmer crying.  It must be so hard for them to just let their animals suffer and die.

As of today, Japanese government completely banned any entry into the 20km radius evacuation zone.
 
Farmers who entered the zone from time to time to watch over their cattle by risking radiation can no longer feed them....
Many animal rescue volunteers can no longer save stranded dogs and cats.

Animals are also victims of Fukushima crisis.


I could not find the same video footage, but this is what's happening in Fukushima evacuation zone.

It's tough to watch, but we should never forget this reality.

・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

TEPCO should incorporate measures to support workers in nuke plant roadmap

The Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, hit hard by a massive tsunami generated by the March 11 earthquake, has managed to avoid catastrophe thanks to the efforts of workers who are trying hard to place the power station under control.

More than 40 days have passed since the plant was hit by the disaster, and workers' fatigue and stress have certainly reached an alarming level.

It is expected to take six to nine months before the plant can be placed under control, according to a roadmap released earlier this week by its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO). However, it is feared that the work will actually take far longer. Photos taken by remote-controlled robots illustrate severe conditions in the buildings housing the crippled reactors.

Many of the workers are crying out for help. It is extremely important for TEPCO and the government to step up support for employees who are working hard under such severe conditions.

A doctor who inspected TEPCO employees working at the plant has revealed that they are forced to sleep at a gymnasium attached to the Fukushima No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant after working at the No. 1 plant. They cannot take a bath everyday and eat mostly canned and instant food. Furthermore, many of them have been evacuated from their home situated in disaster-hit areas or had their residences damaged, and are mentally distressed.

In this April 18, 2011 photo released Wednesday, April 20, 2011 by Ehime University Medical Department Prof. Takeshi Tanigawa, workers, mostly employees of Tokyo Electric Power Co., engaged in operations at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, take rest inside a gymnasium that serves as their temporary dormitory at Fukushima Dai-ni Nuclear Power Plant in Naraha, 14 kilometers (9 miles) south of the former plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. (AP Photo/Ehime University Medical Department Prof. Takeshi Tanigawa)

Read the whole story
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110421p2a00m0na001000c.html


・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

Nuclear plant workers at risk of depression, death from overwork

 FUKUSHIMA —

Tokyo Electric Power Co workers engaged in efforts to stabilize the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are at risk of depression or death from overwork, a doctor who recently saw them said Wednesday.

The workers are not only undertaking dangerous work in severe conditions but also feel a sense of moral responsibility as employees of the firm to blame for the nuclear disaster, Takeshi Tanigawa said.

Some of them were also victims themselves of the March 11 quake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear crisis, and faced with the deaths of relatives or friends, the workers are exposed to multiple stresses, he said.

‘‘Many are complaining of difficulty sleeping and the risks of depression and death from overwork will rise further if this goes on,’’ he said after examining some 90 TEPCO workers from Saturday through Tuesday.

At the end of each day, workers are decontaminated and go to the Fukushima Daini (No 2) nuclear plant some 10 kilometers to the south to sleep on the floor of a gymnasium there in sleeping bags with blankets. There are tatami mats on the floor and a sheet to insulate from the cold, he said.

Among the workers was one who was engaged in work around the clock without being allowed to go out at one point, he said.

Read the whole story
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/nuclear-plant-workers-at-risk-of-depression-death-from-overwork-doctor


(Comments by an author)
According to a news source I read today, their working condition is really severe.  It says that they are eating canned/packaged food mainly, and haven't been able to bathe during the mission.
THIS HAS TO CHANGE DEFINITELY!

・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

'Invisible' deaths continue at evacuation shelters

With the help of her son, 84-year-old Sai Ito survived the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that swamped their hometown of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture.

Amid the frigid temperature, the son, Akira, 60, and neighbors carried the elderly woman up a mountain, where she was air-lifted by helicopter the following afternoon to a nursing home.

Fully conscious but cold, Sai received intravenous drips and doses of insulin for her diabetes, but she had to go without the medication she used to take three times a day.

Sai kept eating and responding to her son even after she became unable to move. But she died 20 days after the disaster struck.

Her doctor listed the cause of death as disease.

Sai's case is one of the growing number of "invisible" deaths among evacuees who have died after developing illnesses or seeing their pre-existing conditions worsen following the quake.

Read the whole story
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104190200.html


・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

"I love you & I need you Fukushima" by Inawashiroko's

You tube movie featuring a song written for and dedicated to Fukushima and its people.
47 faces representing 47 prefectures of Japan, including actors/actresses, TV commentators, are taking part in singing with good wishes for Fukushima.

Do you recongize some faces?

Comments left are also touching and encouraging.

「I love you & I need you ふくしま」猪苗代湖ズ

・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

Japan nuclear crisis: the ghost towns inside Fukushima exclusion zone

The dining table is covered with the remains of a meal, four sake glasses and an overflowing ashtray, but there are no signs of life in Tomioka town, just four miles from the critically-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The family that lived here fled in a hurry, leaving their clothes strewn across another room's tatami floor.
Outside, cars stand abandoned in the empty streets while packs of dogs roam, searching for food.

On the edge of town, a dead cow lies by the edge of the road, while another has escaped its farm to stand and stare at our car, one of only a tiny handful to enter the 12-mile exclusion zone around the plant since the evacuation alert was sounded a month ago.

Read the whole story
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8457177/Japan-nuclear-crisis-the-ghost-towns-inside-Fukushima-exclusion-zone.html


・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

They need Manpower: so many people are trying to help their restoration, but it is still far short.

In Tokyo, passers-by look as if there was no disaster. But you would soon realize that they are only trying to act as calm as possible.  Strong sense of anxiety persists.


 (The following is the Interview of a Japanese volunteer who visited Ishinomaki, Miyagi.  Cited from Real Voice of Japan http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/)


In the affected areas, victims are worrying, suffering and bearing the pain beyond our imagination. I understood how enormous the damages of this earthquake disaster were after seeing them with my own eyes.


Self Defense Force garrisons, policemen, firefighters, aids from overseas, and volunteer workers like me – so many people are trying to help their restoration, but it is still far short. Manpower is what they need most.




And hands of the people are what they can actually use for the help no matter how advanced the technologies are, and how the communication becomes useful. Hands to remove the mud, hands to make rice balls, hands to carry the supplies, hands to treat patients, hands to hug and hold people in pain – it could be recognized as sharing the pain with body warmth.

You could tell those who are in pain “Don’t worry. Everything will heal easy.” But I realized how important it would be to share the feeling of pain with them by placing the hand on the wound and tell them “I know it hurts, but I’m sure it will heal. Let’s cure the wound together. “

(Read the whole story)
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/2011/04/earthquake-disaster-document-back-to.html

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victimwww.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

Japan's Crisis One Month Later

Japan is just in the beginning of the long term recovery effort from the earthquake that struck off northeastern Japan on March 11.

The crisis alert level from the damage to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has now been raised to the highest level of impact, the same as the Chernobyl Russia incident 25 years ago.

Searchers continue to look for the dead, displaced Japanese live in shelters, protests continue over use of nuclear power, Japan's economic engine may be disrupted, the massive cleanup of debris is just underway, aftershocks are feared and many continue to mourn those who were lost.

Japanese Self-Defense Forces cleaned the rooms at the Okawa elementary school in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture. Japan said it was to widen the evacuation area around a crippled nuclear plant to include territory outside the current 12-mile exclusion zone

74 out of a total 104 children have died or have been missing at Okawa Elementary School which was located at lower land in Ishinomaki.  It's shocking to note that the number is equivalent to 70% of the whole student body.

Visit the original site for more photos and comments by Lloyd Young:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/04/japans_crisis_one_month_later.html


・Here are the latest reports on the quake victims in Japan.  
http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/

How can we help?

・Save the Children, Japan quake victim
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake

・Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support Website

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support/207835229228979
OR;
http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support/

・Japanese Red Cross
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html