Embassy of Japan in Abu Dhabi
The easiest way for you to help the disaster victims is through the local Japanese Embassy; the consular section of the Embassy of Japan in Abu Dhabi accepts donations from 8.30am to 1.30pm from Sunday to Thursday, and the embassy has also set up a bank account to receive direct transfers. The embassy will forward all donations to the Japanese Red Cross Society, and is authorised to issue letters of confirmation of your donations – which in the case of bank transfers will require the transfer receipt. The embassy can only accept financial support, and is unable to deliver donations in kind to affected areas at this time.
For more information, call 02 443 5696 or visit www.uae.emb-japan.go.jp.
The Online alternatives
If you’d prefer to contribute online, it’s best to target one of the many international organisations that are now active in Japan. Most of these have information on their website on the crisis, along with ways
you can help.
International Federation Of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies
The Japanese Red Cross is playing a key role in counselling, housing and caring for the thousands of people who have been evacuated or left homeless as a result of the disaster. They were one of the first groups that rushed to the scence, and they have a live feed on Twitter for people who want real-time updates on the aid and the situation. Find it at twitter.com/Federation.
www.ifrc.org
The Nippon Foundation
The Nippon Foundation was established as a non-profit philanthropic organisation that works to bolster the domestic development of Japan; it has now redirected its efforts towards accumulating a relief fund. The foundation has experience in providing support after disasters; they worked with partners to help with relief efforts after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, and the Mid Niigata Earthquake and Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
www.nippon-foundation.or.jp
Save the Children
As many as 100,000 children may have been displaced after the earthquake, and Save the Children has a team in Sendai, one of the hardest-hit areas, trying to help those who were worst-affected. They’ve carried out exploratory missions and found and assisted many children. The organisation has also established the first child-friendly space in Japan, an area where children can gather to play under the supervision of trained adults.
www.savethechildren.org
Association of Medical Doctors in Asia
AMDA is an international organisation directing humanitarian efforts in the medical healthcare sector. It has been busy delivering mobile clinic services and relief goods to nursing homes and school shelters in affected areas, and has focused part of its efforts on combating a possible spread of the common cold, which is now a problem in enclosed areas.
www.amdainternational.com
Google Crisis Response
Google has set up a portal that allows you to help multiple relief funds from the same page, using the Google Checkout system. The page also has many streams of news and resources on the situation and efforts.
www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html
From the Scene
In this extract from his live blog, Time Out Tokyo’s Jon Wilks shares his account of the terrifying day that shook Japan.
3.15pm
The first shaking started about 30 minutes ago. It still hasn’t stopped.
I’m writing this from the Time Out office, a ground floor room at the base of a relatively new building. Across the road there’s a tenement block. It’s swaying horrifically – so much so, in fact, that it looks like a miniature. I can’t quite compute seeing a building doing that.
As I write, I can’t get through to anyone. Nothing in the immediate vicinity has collapsed, but we’re unable to get direct news from our friends and families – all the phones are down. The streets are full of people. What sound like air raid sirens are going off across the city. A colleague is on a train on the way to Narita Airport. He says it has stopped and that it’s swaying on its tracks. The Tokyo folk in my office, born and raised in this city, say they’ve never felt anything like this before. They’re jittery, which just makes me even more jittery.
3.45pm
This building is still on the move. Books, computers, coffee cups – none of them are where they should be. Our friends have sent in photos of an entire library emptied across the floor. Most people are back in the building, but they are on the edge of their chairs. I’m halfway under the desk.
We’re hearing now that Narita Airport has closed. We’re hearing it on an old radio. It feels like I’m listening to a war report.
4.08pm
The rumblings have now stopped. Amazing that they really were rumblings – you could hear the second big earthquake growling before the tables started moving. Two quakes appear to have hit Japan simultaneously – Miyagi Prefecture and then Ibaraki. Warnings of a 32ft tsunami are doing the rounds.
Getting anywhere in Tokyo by public transport this evening is not going to be easy.
The Richter Scale level has been shifted up to 8.9. The thing that strikes me immediately is how unprepared the people around me seem to be. This city has been waiting for ‘The Big One’ since 1923. Nobody has any good idea of what to do. Some said they were told, as children, to get under their desk, yet nobody was willing to take their own advice. The aftershocks continue. I don’t think Tokyo will be sleeping comfortably tonight.
5pm
Aftershocks are still keeping us on edge, but our accountant has just turned up, which suggests that Tokyo life is already getting back to normal. Phones are still down and bus is the only form of transportation. Awful scenes from the north, though, with farms, trucks, ships, homes… all washed out to sea.
No death toll announced yet, but the mood here is sombre.
5.30pm
Disturbing news coming in on the radio that Disneyland is quickly flooding.
5.45pm
Seconds ago our phones started bleeping their pre-quake warnings. Fukushima and Ibaraki are on alert again. Everyone is sitting really quietly, almost as if they expect to be able to hear the next quake hit.
8.30pm
It has been a tiring afternoon, but the camaraderie in this city is palpable. Loads of businesses and companies offering shelter to the stranded folk who can’t get home (including Time Out Tokyo staff!). We’ve tried our best to provide a list of everything people might need to get through the evening in the capital, but we can only wish we were able to help the folk up north. The death toll is growing and the damage is gigantic.
8.40pm
We’re told that more than 40 earthquakes have been reported today in Japan alone, all over a magnitude of 6.
9.55pm
Listening to the radio announcements – people trying to get in touch with loved ones. A long, unending procession of names and pleas. Awful to hear. Feeling awfully useless sitting here.
11.50pm
As the day approaches midnight, we’re starting to see the pacific coast of the country light up red on the NHK tsunami maps. The damage is not yet known, but it looks like a country under attack. From the north, Miyagi Prefecture, we’re seeing raging fires spreading out of control. The mood in this office has gone from adrenaline-fuelled determination to a kind of subdued despair.
Midnight
No rest for Tokyo tonight. The aftershocks are long and worrying. Every slight movement prompts us to get up and prepare to run outside, as if that might be the safer place to be.
As we’ve seen with the horrific scenes in Sendai, not even the great wide open can guarantee security.
12.15am
Yet another large aftershock slams into Tokyo. My colleague, born and raised in the capital, tells me, ‘We had earthquake training at school when we were kids, but I was too scared to use it today. I thought I was used to earthquakes…’
Doesn’t this last sentence speak volumes?
