Many people are hurt and missing after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunamis in Japan recently. If you have any resources possible, please consider helping out through these organizations.
The large earthquake triggered a tsunami warning for countries all around the Pacific ocean.
Local Japan Emergency dials:
171 + 1 + line phone number to leave a message
171 + 2 + line phone number to listen to the message
Phone numbers to consult about missing persons: (Japanese language)
Iwate: 0120-801-471
Miyagi: 022-221-2000
Fukushima: 0120-510-186 / 090-8424-4207 / 090-8424-4208
Help Google Find Missing People
If you have any information about people affected by the disaster, you can enter it into the Google application. (You should especially use it if you know people are safe! It gives loved ones peace of mind.) If you have friends and family in Japan, you can also search the database and see if they are okay.
- Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake
- More resources at Google Crisis response Japan quake
Donate to Japan:
American Red Cross: The American Red Cross is collecting text donations, according to Renee Kelly, an American Red Cross spokeswoman. To contribute, send a text with REDCROSS to 90999 and $10 will be donated to the relief efforts. (A similar initiative was hugely successful after the Haiti earthquake, raising more than $32 million.)
Shelterbox: Author Maureen Johnson has launched an online fundraiser for Shelterbox, collecting money for earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan. Johnson led a similar fundraiser for earthquake victims in New Zealand, raising more than $15,000. According to the organization’s website, Shelterbox is an organization that goes into areas of the world affected by disaster with large green boxes that contain shelters and the materials needed for people to restart their lives on some level. The boxes always include a top-quality tent, and they usually include stoves, blankets, water purification systems, and tools. This is true, life-saving stuff, hand-delivered by volunteers trained in survival techniques.
Save the Children: Save the Children says it is mobilizing global resources to respond to the needs of children and families affected by the earthquake and its aftermath. The organization’s website reports that an international emergency team has been dispatched to assist staff in Japan.
The humanitarian agency, which is based on Westport, Connecticut, says it has been operating in Japan for 25 years along with other Pacific nations impacted by tsunamis. Donors may make charitable contributions to the group’s Children’s Emergency Fund.
GlobalGiving: This Washington, D.C.-based group has launched the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. According to the organization’s website, it will disburse donations to groups providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami. GlobalGiving is working with International Medical Corps, Save the Children, and other organizations.
Update: By 1 a.m. EDT on March 13, the group had collected more than $300,000.
Convoy of Hope: Convoy of Hope, a global relief organization based in Washington, D.C., is accepting online donations. You can also text TSUNAMI to 50555 to donate $10 to the group’s disaster response efforts. According to the organization’s website, the Disaster Response team “has established connection with in-country partners in Japan who have been impacted by the damage and are identifying the needs and areas where Convoy of Hope may be of the greatest assistance.”
Salvation Army: The Salvation Army, which has had a presence in Japan since 1895, says it is mobilizing relief efforts in response the earthquake. According to a spokeswoman, the Salvation Army in Tokyo is sending an assessment team to the city of Sendai to assess damage and will begin providing basic necessities, such as food and water, beginning as soon as March 12.
You can get more information on the organization’s website, Facebook page and on Twitter. Donations are being accepted by texting JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the group’s relief efforts.
Give2Asia: The Give2Asia Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Fund is raising funds to support immediate relief and short-term to long-term recovery projects undertaken by the affected communities. The organization said in an email that it is working with local advisors based in Tokyo to assess the current situation and to obtain more information on the needs of survivors.
Donations to the fund can be made online. For more information, contact info@give2asia.org.
International Medical Corps: International Medical Corps is mobilizing relief teams and supplies to respond to the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. “We are communicating with local partners in Japan on the most pressing needs,” says Crystal A. Wells, a communications officer at the Santa Monica, California-based group. “We will be responding to needs on the ground, which may include sending supplies to local partners and/or deploying emergency response teams.”
People can help in the relief effort by visiting the organization’s website or texting MED to 80888 to donate $10.
Resources
Alarm and warning
- Japan Meteorological Agency Tsunami Warnings/Advisories
- Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
- Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
- Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet (Japanese language)
Disaster message boards
- NTT Docomo disaster message board
- KDDI/au disaster message board
- SoftBank disaster message board
- EMOBILE disaster message board
- WILLCOM disaster message board
Transportation status
Trains, buses (Japanese language)
Flight status
Blackout information (Japanese language)
About the planned blackouts
If you have trouble connecting to Tokyo Electric's homepage, download the PDF files below (this may not be the latest version).
Tochigi / Ibaraki / Gunma / Chiba / Kanagawa /
Tokyo / Saitama / Yamanashi / Shizuoka
The blackout time for each chart number (group) is as follows.
Group 1: 6:20 - 10:00 16:50 - 20:30
Group 2: 9:20 - 13:00 18:20 - 22:00
Group 3: 12:20 - 16:00
Group 4: 13:50 - 17:30
Group 5: 15:20 - 19:00
* The blackout in the assigned time 6:20 - 10:00 for Group 1 is currently being held off. However, if later demands exceed predictions, the blackout may be enacted as scheduled. (as of 07:51)
* The blackout time for each group may start and end slightly ahead of or behind schedule.
* Depending on the demands for today, previously unannounced blackouts may be enacted.
* Also, depending on the state of our facilities today, blackouts may be enacted for different times for the announced groups.