HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TURNS CORNER IN JAPAN ON

DAY 14: MARCH 24

PROBLEMS FOLLOWING THE MARCH 11TH

EARTHQUAKE / TSUNAMI ARE NOW BEING OVERCOME

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

THE EARTHQUAKE OCCURRED AT 2:46 PM,

MARCH 11, 2011

DAY 1: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

• Humanitarian assistance was pledged or dispatched to Japan on DAY 1 by many countries to mitigate the possibility of thousands of deaths, and to provide specialized health care in the light of possible water borne diseases and the effects of high radiation levels and a possible “nuclear melt down.”

SOCIETAL IMPACTS

• The tsunami wave runup, which left widespread devastation, debris, and impassable road systems on DAY 1, stymied humanitarian assistance.

A CATASTROPHE DIDN’T HELP

• Japan’s social, technical, administrative, political, legal, health care, and economic systems were tested to their limits by the impacts of the earthquake and tsunami, the radiation leaks, lack of food, and harsh weather..

DIMENSIONS OF THE CATASTROPHE

WIDE SPREAD DAMAGE AND LOSS OF FUNCTION

MORTALITY (LIKELY AROUND 26,000)

“A NIGHTMARE NUCLEAR DISASTER ”

HUGE ECONOMIC LOSSES

THE MAJOR HINDERANCE: RADIATION CLOUDS

THE NUCLEAR DISASTER SLOWED THE NUCLEAR DISASTER SLOWED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCEHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

• The fires, explosions, and radiation leaks and clouds that raised radiation levels to 1,000 + times normal levels dramatically slowed and, in some cases, prevented humanitarian assistance.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE:

• The USS Ronald Reagan, which was dispatched immediately to Japan at the request of the Japanese Government, made helicopters available and assisted in urgent search and rescue missions until thwarted by the radiation clouds.

EVEN THE WEATHER HINDERED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

DAY 14: MARCH 24

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FINALLY ABLE TO TURN THE

CORNER

DAY 14’s TURNING POINTS

• Turning points: Food aid is flowing, refugees are seeing daily routines restored, and mobile banks are appearing in northern Japan.

EVACUEES: ROUTINES AND ASSISTANCE MARKEDLY IMPROVED