Japan Takes Charge of Own Relief Efforts

Earthquake-prone Japan is prepared for quakes, probably more so than any other country in the world.

The Japanese Red Cross has already dispatched 62 National Disaster Response Teams totaling more than 400 doctors, nurses, and administrative workers. They have distributed 700 blankets and sent some 30,560 more to the disaster area for distribution where nighttime temperatures are between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

American Red Cross sent one disaster management expert on Sunday. Other than that, for now the American Red Cross will mostly be sending money.

“The fact that Japan has, at this point, reached out for international assistance speaks volumes, because they are one of the tightest countries on the planet as far as preparedness,” said Christopher Tompkins of the International Medical Assistance Team speaking with King5 News. Tompkins is located in Everett, Wash., and is gathering doctors, nurses, and paramedics to help with relief work.

Save the Children’s media manager, Ian Wolverton, arrived in Japan on Sunday to help with the thousands of children displaced by the tsunami.

Wolverton didn’t head to Sendai, at the center of the devastation, but to the city of Asahi, where authorities estimate that 19,000 households are struggling with the aftereffects of the earthquake and tsunami.

Save the Children works to open what they call “Child Friendly Spaces” in disaster areas. The goal is to provide children a place where they can play safely and get a break from the stress of the emergency situation—and to give parents a break, too.

On his blog, Wolverton describes a young family he met in Asahi. The Takane family took shelter in one of 17 classrooms at IIzuka Primary School. They are only one of hundreds of families at the school.

“Mom Mariko and her four children Yuto (8), Aika (7), Kanato (1) and newborn Amihi had been living in a small classroom since Friday. At first they were afraid to go home, but once they summoned the courage to return, they found there was no water supply, leaving them little choice but to return to the school for shelter. Sadly, I suspect that the Takane’s story is one playing out up and down the east coast of Japan’s most densely populated island.”

Another relief group, World Vision, has an office in Japan that usually focuses on fighting poverty and helping with disaster relief in other countries. This time, the organization’s supplies in Japan, prepared for relief work elsewhere, are now being used in Japan itself.

The organization sent Casey Calamusa to be their emergency communications officer in Japan. He arrived in Tokyo on Sunday and Skyped reports back to headquarters.

He says that although Tokyo was not seriously affected, “the disaster is obviously on everybody’s mind. There’s also been news that a 7.0 aftershock is expected in the next few days, so that is keeping everyone on their toes.”

Despite potential severe aftershocks, Calamusa said the people, “don’t seem hopeless; they are resilient and are determined to move forward.”

Spark of Hope

Miyako Hospital in tsunami-swept Iwate Prefecture was spared destruction because of its hilltop location overlooking the city. The hospital is one of the few in the area that survived last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami relatively unharmed, reports Asahi Shimbun, and has since become a refuge for the coastal city of 58,000.

Many in the area are still unaccounted for, but a couple sparks of hope were born on Friday. Not long after the tsunami struck the city, the hospital welcomed two new lives. One pregnant woman who was rushed to the hospital gave birth to a baby girl at 6:17 p.m., 3.5 hours after the quake’s arrival. The next day, Yuka Kobayashi gave birth a baby girl at 6:57 a.m. She had travelled from Tokyo to her parents’ home in Miyako to have the baby.

“At times like this, it is a great encouragement to hear news like this,” hospital director Senji Kanno told the paper.

The hospital obstetrician said both mothers gave birth without complications, although both were nervous amid continuous tsunami updates.