You will all have seen the terrible news of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on Friday afternoon.
We in Hiroshima have not been directly affected and did not feel the earthquake but we have been watching in horror the news reports on television.
The tsunami arrived on our local coast last night, but the size of the wave was about 50cm and it did not do any damage in the Hiroshima area.
First the earthquake struck with a magnitude of 8.8, then the tsunami, then fires broke out and in some places the ground caved in or subsided. So far hundreds of deaths have been reported but it is certain the number of victims will continue to increase as the days go by.
Now it is a very difficult situation as the earthquake has affected half of Japan to a greater or lesser extent.
I am most worried about the nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture. I am afraid it could be another “Three Mile Island”. People living within 20 kilometers of the plant have been evacuated from the area.
We are now beginning to consider how best ANT can help the people in the affected areas. It is still a very dangerous situation so only the Japanese Self Defence Force and other government emergency relief agencies are operating in the area at the moment.
Anyway, we have to calmly collect information and judge the situation so that we can help in the best way we can.
We at ANT-Hiroshima have received many messages of support. Thank you very much for your warm words love and compassion. Your thoughts and messages help us to renew our energy and face the situation.
Tomoko Watanabe
ANT Hiroshma
