Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news update from Japan.
On Monday morning, March 28, yet another quake struck the afflicted region in Japan, this one a 6.5-magnitude temblor that hit 80 kilometers east of Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture.

A tsunami warning issued in coastal areas of the prefecture was later lifted. However, the Japanese Meteorological Agency urged people to remain on alert for aftershocks already numbering more than 60 over magnitude 6.0 that have hit following March 11’s catastrophic 9.0-magnitude quake
and massive tsunami.

With some 28,000 confirmed perished or still unaccounted for, more than 190,000 people remained in shelters as of Sunday. Conveying her love and sorrowful prayers, Supreme Master Ching Hai donated US$80,000 in aid since the initial calamities, requesting that our Association members,
including doctors and nurses, go to help and bring urgent materials such as medicine to the victims, particularly the young and elderly.

She also said that any extra expenses would be reimbursed by headquarters at Hsihu. Along with contributions from our international Association members, the combined donations total over US$110,000. Our Association’s relief teams from Japan and Formosa (Taiwan) have been conducting relief work in the worst-hit areas, with our Association members from South Korea helping to prepare emergency supplies for the victims.

In accordance with Supreme Master Ching Hai’s attentive requests for updates, the following is a report from our Association’s medical team. March 26, 2011

VOICE: Our gratefulness for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s allowing us to share this information, as we also thank our Association’s Foreign Group for providing this report.

Supreme Master Ching Hai conveyed the following in reply:

Meanwhile, officials and workers still struggle to control the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Emphasizing the need for people to stay out of the minimum 20-kilometer evacuation zone around the plant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said, “It is very likely that
within 20 km of the plant is contaminated and there is a big risk (to human health) at the moment.”

This warning came after the Fukushima Prefectural government said that it appeared many evacuees were returning to their homes, including elderly residents suffering from exhaustion in shelter conditions as well as people coming for their belongings.

Although radiation levels in the air at observation points surroundingthe plant were reportedly decreasing on Monday, more contamination was found in nearby seawater. A sample collected 30 meters away on Sunday contained radioactive iodine 1,150 times higher than the permitted level.

Traces of plutonium have also been detected in Japanese soil in five locations at the power plant. Plutonium is more harmful than other radioactive substances such as iodine and cesium and is more likely to lead to long-term problems such as cancer. Officials also reported the first find of water contaminated with high radiation levels outside the Fukushima Daiichi power plant’s No. 2 reactor building.

The radiation, which was measured at 1,000 millisieverts an hour, can lead to temporary radiation sickness and far exceeds the 100 millisieverts per hour that already is a source of cancer risk. A first find of contaminated water outside Japan was also made as rainwater in the northeastern US
states of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania was discovered to contain traces of radiation from the Fukushima power plant.

However, officials said the levels were low enough thus far that they did not threaten drinking water supplies. California, Colorado, and other states have also reported trace amounts of atmospheric radiation.

A small amount of radioactive xenon believed to have traveled from the Japanese power plant was also detected in the air over northeastern South Korea on Monday.

At the plant itself, officials' efforts were directed toward removing highly radioactive water from the turbine buildings of reactors No. 1, 2, and 3 without sending workers too close.

The surface of the water in reactor No. 2 was found to have radiation levels of 1,000 millisieverts per hour, with radioactive substances detected in concentrations 100,000 times higher than usual. Exposure to such radiation for just 4 hours increases the risk of perishing in 30 days.

Removing the water is thus necessary before vital operations to restore the cooling systems of reactor Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 can resume.

Our appreciation to all governments and personnel assisting the Japanese people at this time. We are also thankful for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s wholehearted aid, as well as for the meticulous efforts of our Association’s relief team.

With our sincere sympathies for those who have lost loved ones, we pray for the smooth restoration of regular day-to-day lives in Japan, and that humanity’s kinder nature prevails for the restored stability of our ecosphere.