Almost a week after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that devastated huge swathes of Japan’s north-eastern region, the full scale of the disaster is still being revealed.
With the death toll mounting daily, and the government desperately trying to prevent a nuclear disaster at two of its plants, it has also been revealed that approximately 450,000 people have been forced into temporary shelters, while food and water shortages are becoming more dire by the day.
The Japanese Emperor Akihito recently made a rare public address to announce he was praying for the people of Japan and to say he was “deeply worried” about the nuclear situation.
Around 140,000 people living near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have been ordered to remain indoors while efforts are made to cool the reactors and prevent radiation leaks. However, many people are leaving the area to try to escape being contaminated.
The International Director of the Lausanne Movement, Lindsay Brown, has also expressed his “profound sadness” over the Japan disaster.
“We grieve at the loss of life and the unimaginable devastation being experienced by the Japanese people,” Brown stated.
“Our prayers, and the prayers of the Lausanne family, are with our brothers and sisters in Japan.
“We pray for strength for them as they struggle to comprehend these enormous losses in light of the hope we have as believers in Christ.
“We stand with them in their hope for rebuilding and the renewal of their great nation and encourage Christians around the world to do all they can to offer comfort, encouragement and tangible support to our friends in Japan.”
The ACT Alliance of Christian development agencies said today that the relief supply needs at evacuation sites were only increasing as sites were reporting shortages of food, water, electricity, health and hygiene kits, and blankets.
Rapidly dropping temperatures is only adding to the suffering of the Japanese disaster refugees.
"Although Japan is considered among the most advanced countries in terms of disaster risk reduction measures, the damage caused by the unprecedented scale of this disaster is beyond imagination," said Takeshi Komino, the head of emergencies for CWS Asia Pacific.
World Vision has also sent in crisis teams with a particular mandate to care for children. They are in the process of creating child friendly areas where children can safely play and recover from their traumatic experiences.
Mitsuko Sobata, advocacy officer for World Vision Japan, described the situation in one of the worst hit cities, Sendai: “Last night, I visited one of the shelters housing some of the 340,000 people who have been evacuated around the city.
“Children are sleeping on cardboard with one blanket in freezing weather. It was very difficult for me to see that.”
Mark Bulpitt, head of emergencies at World Vision UK, has said that: “The sheer scale of this disaster is as bas as anything we’ve seen globally.
“Our experts on the ground are constantly assessing the situation and will focus on the specific needs of children, many of whom will be deeply affected by this experience.”