Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan
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Just watched some videos on the youtube. Seriously cant believe that there are idiots that commented that Japan deserves it. WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY SAYING?!
Can't believe how ignorant some people are. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy.
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And a message from Rin:
GIles-san, thanks for your all kind notes.
When the earthquake was happen at 2:45 pm Yesterday,
I ( and my wife) was working in my apartment in Yokohama.
Fortunately, all my families and friends are ok,
but few cities in the north east parts of Japan(Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima) were completely gone; probably over 1500 people were killed by tsunami…
Now Tokyo area is mostly coming back as a usual day.
Thanks again so much again and talk later!
Rin Tanaka
from Rin: -
Good to hear the IH and Flathead families are all ok. Such a terrible and humbling event.
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Glad that the whole IH/ TW crew is alright! My deepest sympathies, thoughts, and prayers go out to all those harmed by this event…
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After the catastrophe, I am totally amazed by the courage, the civility and the spirit of the Japanese people. They are truly awesome and I really admire the country, the civilization and the fantastic strength and energy. Truly noble people.
All my prayers to my Japanese friends and the country.
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thoughts & prayers go out to all impacted by this event. I think the below is useful & I'm pretty sure wubul was about to post this up along with the 634 question:
Charities have begun making requests for contributions to help with their efforts following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance offers the following tips to help Americans decide where to direct donations to assist.
Be cautious when giving online.
Be cautious about online giving, especially in response to spam messages and emails that claim to link to a relief organization. If you want to give to a charity involved in relief efforts, go directly to the charity’s Web site. In response to Katrina, Rita and the Asian tsunamis of several years ago, the FBI and others raised concerns about Web sites and new organizations that were created overnight, allegedly to help victims.Rely on expert opinion when it comes to evaluating a charity.
Be cautious when relying on third-party recommendations such as bloggers or other Web sites, as they may not have fully researched the relief organizations they list. The public can go towww.bbb.org/charity to research charities and relief organizations and verify that they are accredited by the BBB and meet the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations will assist relief victims.
Despite what an organization might claim, charities have fund raising and administrative costs. Even a credit card donation will involve, at a minimum, a processing fee. If a charity claims 100 percent of collected funds will be assisting hurricane victims, the truth is that the organization is still probably incurring fund raising and administrative expenses. It may use some of its other funds to pay these costs, but the expenses will still be incurred.Find out if the charity has an on-the-ground presence in the impacted areas.
Unless the charity already has staff in the affected areas, it may be difficult to bring in new aid workers to provide assistance quickly. See if the charity’s Web site clearly describes what the charity can do to address immediate needs.Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups.
Some charities may be raising money to pass along to relief organizations. If so, you may want to consider “avoiding the middleman” and giving directly to those that have a presence in the region. Or, at a minimum, check out the ultimate recipients of these donations to see whether they are equipped to provide aid effectively.Gifts of clothing, food or other in-kind donations.
In-kind drives for food and clothing, while well intentioned, may not necessarily be the quickest way to help those in need – unless the organization has the staff and infrastructure to distribute such aid properly. Ask the charity about its transportation and distribution plans. Be wary of those who are not experienced in disaster relief assistance.All lifted from the Better Business Bureau
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/tips-for-giving-to-earthquake-relief-efforts-in-japan-25992 -
I asked Ayumi for an update on the situation. This is her message:
Giles and Paula,
As time ticks away, people are finding more damages, more people still being isolated and waiting for help and a lot of people who have evacuated are not having enough food and water. According to Mainichi Newspaper, more than 1,900 people confirmed dead, more than 20,000 people are still missing, at least 340,000 people have evacuated. They expect more than 10,000 people will be confirmed dead in few days. Iwate, Miyagi, Tochigi, Aomori and Fukushima are the most worst hit areas.
There is a problem with Nuclear power plant in Fukushima which Tokyo relies part of their power, Tokyo will not have enough power so they will have part-time black out from tomorrow. Energy company divided Tokoy into several areas and each area will have about 3 hours black out per day. Besides that, most of city functions have been back in normal in Tokyo area.
This is my friends post :
This whole things are very bad, but only things people live far from Japan can do is donation and pray….
http://supportjapan.org/Thank you for thinking of Japanese people.
Ayumi