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As Many as 1,00,000 Children Displaced in Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, says Save the Children
WESTPORT, Conn. (March 13, 2011) -- Save the Children warns that as many as 100,000 children may have been displaced because of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
“We are concerned for as many as 100,000 children who may have been displaced because of last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. Many of them will have lost their homes and been forced to take refuge in unfamiliar places like evacuation centers that might cause them to be afraid and anxious,” said Stephen McDonald, who is leading Save the Children’s relief efforts in Japan.
“There is also a risk that some of them will have become separated from their parents and family members because of the disaster. It is important we provide support to parents and children who are struggling to cope in the aftermath of the disaster,” said McDonald.
Save the Children has a team in Sendai, one of the worst-affected areas, establishing an operations base to help the most vulnerable children and their families.
Teams from Tokyo arrived in Sendai today to set up a network of child-friendly spaces aimed to provide children in shelters with a safe place to play, and to give parents a break from watching their children while they register for emergency assistance.
Save the Children's response in Japan so far:
- Save the Children has a team in Sendai working to set up a network of child friendly spaces in the major evacuation centres in the disaster affected areas of Miyagi and Iwate. We have already set up two child friendly spaces in Sendai City servicing six evacuation centres. Two more child friendly spaces are due to be established tomorrow.
- We have distributed a range of essential items, such as warm clothes and blankets, to 615 people in five locations in Ishinomaki City.
- We are identifying partners in and around the impact zone in order to assess the services available and to efficiently meet the needs of children and families.
- We are working with relief agencies and authorities to ensure children's rights are protected.
Save the Children Deploys Emergency Response Teams to Tsunami-Affected Areas in Japan
Mariko and her four children, including newborn Amihi, have sought shelter at IIzuka Primary School in Asahi City since being made homeless by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan Friday, March 11.
WESTPORT, Conn. (March 13, 2011) – Save the Children has sent emergency response teams to assess the needs of children and their families in the worst affected tsunami areas between Miyagi Prefecature and Tokyo in Japan.
“We are extremely concerned for children in tsunami-affected areas that are at risk because of a triple whammy of life-threatening incidents including an earthquake, tsunami and now an incident at a nuclear reactor,” Stephen McDonald, Save the Children’s team leader in Japan said.
The Save the Children teams will be within 80 miles of the nuclear reactor at Fukushima where there has been an explosion. In the area around the reactor, the authorities have set up a 12 mile radius exclusion zone, and have reported that up 170,000 people have been evacuated.
Evacuations centers are being established in the area and along the tsunami-affected coast to accommodate people, and it will be important that children’s needs are met while parents register for help and assistance from authorities.
“We’re looking to set up child-friendly spaces in the worst affected areas. These spaces provide children with an opportunity to play safely with other children while freeing up their parents to work on the recovery,” added McDonald.
Save the Children has been operating in Japan for 25 years.
Donate now to the Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund to support Save the Children's relief efforts and responses to children's ongoing and urgent needs.
Source: Save the Children, www.savethechildren.org |
