JAPAN EARTHQUAKE – CRISIS RESPONSE
A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake – the largest ever in the country – struck the eastern coast of Japan at 14:46 local time, March 11, 2011.
The earthquake’s epicentre was located 130 kilometres off the
eastern coast of Japan, and some 373 kilometres north-east of Tokyo. A number of severe 6.4-magnitude aftershocks have followed.
Within minutes, the quake had triggered a tsunami that hit the eastern coast of Japan with 7-metre-high waves, and has triggered tsunami warnings across 20 countries along the Pacific coast. The death toll and numbers of injured or missing continues to escalate by the hour.
Ve’ahavta is currently monitoring the situation and will be responding through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (the JDC), which is the world’s largest Jewish humanitarian organization operating around the globe. Ve’ahavta has partnered with the JDC to respond to numerous crises in 2010, including Haiti, Chile, and Pakistan.
Almost immediately after the earthquake and tsunami hit, the JDC consulted with the Jewish community in Tokyo to identify local Japanese non-governmental organizations working in the affected areas. The JDC has already begun funneling money to JEN, a Tokyo-based organization specializing in shelter reconstruction, support of the socially vulnerable and emergency supply distribution that had managed to send personnel to the ravaged Japanese prefectures of Miyagi and Fukushima.
As with other disasters, the JDC will assist with long-term relief, budget allowing.
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