Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news from Japan.
As of Thursday, March 17, the confirmed death toll from Japan’s largest 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami on March 11 had exceeded 5,400, with more than 2,000 people injured and over 9,000 others still unaccounted for. As recent snow and freezing temperatures continued to hamper relief efforts, shelters packed with people are lacking in basic necessities such as water, food, heat, and light, as well as medical supplies.
 
With the cold increasing demands for limited power supplies, the Japanese government warned of a massive blackout in Tokyo on Thursday evening, prompting the transport ministry to reduce the number of trains.

Expressing her deep gratitude for the outpouring of international aid for Japan at this time, Supreme Master Ching Hai had immediately pledged a US$20,000 donation on March 11, 2011,conveying her sorrow and loving prayers as she asked that our Association members go render aid and share comfort with the most desperate victims.

Our Association’s relief teams from Japan and Formosa (Taiwan) have traveled to some of the hardest-hit disaster areas to meet the needs for essential items. Per Supreme Master Ching Hai’s request for updates, the following is a report from our Association's relief team in Japan.

March 17, 2011
Re: Earthquake and tsunami in Japan Most Compassionate Master,Here in Japan, the first relief team for assessing the situation came back early this morning from the tsunami-stricken area of Iwate Prefecture.
Usually, the government doesn't permit any private rescue team to enter to disaster site so early on, but we were able to go smoothly into Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture.

We could also get gasoline 3 times on the way. We were the first private relief team allowed to enter this area, where we found that the disaster victims are receiving water and relief supplies from the next city, but it’s not enough. Our second rescue team bringing relief supplies will leave Tokyo tomorrow.

It takes 8 or 9 hours from Tokyo to the disaster site by car. In addition, Gunma Center of Japan has gone to distribute relief supplies to disaster victims of Mito City in Ibaragi Prefecture.

Despite the terrible tragedies, discomfort and radiation fears, the people are hanging on with dignity and hope. Master’s aid will surely ease some of their worries in their hearts.

Thank you so much,Master, for your love in Japan. We will send more updates soon. With all our love,
Relief team in Japan

VOICE: Our thankfulness to Supreme Master Ching Hai for permitting us to share these details with our viewers, as well as our Association’s Foreign Group for making this information available.
Upon seeing this report, Supreme Master Ching Hai responded with the following message:
Thank you and bless you for being so kind to the vulnerable.

My heart is a little comforted knowing you are there to render love and shared sorrow. Please know that my prayers are with you and the good people of Japan. We will offer US$30,000 more for reimbursement and additional urgently needed items for the elderly and children especially.

Meanwhile, in an update on the nuclear situation which is being compared to previous grave accidents of Chernobyl in Ukraine and Three Mile Island in the USA, radiation levels at municipalities around Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continued to exceed normal measurements.

Sixty-five kilometers northwest of the plant at Fukushima City, the radiation was 13.9 microsieverts per hour, or 340 times higher than usual.

A previously established evacuation zone of 20-kilometers around the plant was maintained, with residents between 20 and 30 kilometers’ distance also being asked to stay indoors.

High radiation levels were found at distances of 30 kilometers from the nuclear plant, whereas previously it was 20 kilometers. Many of the estimated 50,000 people in this region’s Minami Soma city moved out, and the city was preparing to move the remaining 30,000 from Fukushima Prefecture, as shelters in the prefecture were already full.

Low concentrations of radioactive particles deemed not harmful to humans were also observed heading eastward toward North America.

The situation at the nuclear plant is still very serious, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has also admitted. Sir John Beddington, the British government’s chief scientific officer, said the crisis is still very troublesome.

According to ABC News, a US official said that if situation is not controlled within a critical 48 hours, the nuclear disaster could be “deadly for decades.” French government spokesperson Francois Baroin indicated Fukushima’s potential to be the worst nuclear disaster in world history, saying, “In the worst of cases,
it could have an impact worse than Chernobyl.”

European Union energy commissioner Günther Oettinger also said, “There is talk of an apocalypse and I think the word is particularly well chosen. Practically everything is out of control. I cannot exclude the worst in the hours and days to come.”

The priority on Thursday was in cooling the overheating spent fuel pools in the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors, which threatened to emit highly contaminated radioactive materials.

Following an initially unsuccessful mission, helicopters from Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) were sent again to pour seawater on the No. 3 reactor tower on Thursday, after which the personnel had to be decontaminated. This air mission was followed by a ground operation where water was shot
at high pressure from a police water cannon truck and SDF fire trucks.

In a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan overnight on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon again offered help with the nuclear crisis.

Japan’s nuclear crisis has also sparked much concern from governments around the world, with rising doubts about the assurances of safety from Japanese officials.
The United Kingdom and South Korea joined the United States in calling their nationals to stay outside an 80-kilometer radius from the quake-stricken plant.

However, this was halted due to the danger to personnel of high radiation levels. A plan to provide a power cable connected to the external grid that would supply electricity to the coolant systems is still being carried out, with the hope that it will be completed soon.

Meanwhile, personnel on site has been nearly doubled to 322, with teams working in shifts of 50 in an attempt to minimize their exposure to the high radiation levels.

Experts such as Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, expressed concern that many of the heroic workers might suffer lethal radiation doses, despite protective clothing.

As Spain’s government announced plans to review security measures at all six of its nuclear power plants, the Chinese State Council ordered safety inspections in each of the nation’s nuclear facilities as it suspended approval of new nuclear projects.

Meanwhile, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan have declared the safety of nuclear power as did President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which is the world’s second-largest producer of nuclear energy.

However, President Sarkozy also called a meeting of G20 ministers in coming weeks to discuss alternative energy options. Our appreciation the dedicated response of all governments, agencies, relief personnel and experts involved in support for Japan and her people.

We also thank Supreme Master Ching Hai
for her timely assistance to those still in dire need, and our diligent Association’s relief team. We pray that this distressful situation eases for all those affected and that such extreme disasters are minimized through our conscientious efforts to care for all beings.