GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Japan has announced its first trade deficit since 1980, Y2.49tn ($32bn), with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda saying it will take until 2014 for a turn-around. Analysts, according to the financial press, are gloomier about Japan’s short- to mid-term prospects for avoiding a current account surplus. The savings rate in the country has been falling, fuel costs have risen sharply in the past year and the trade balance has been hurt as well by a combination of the broader impact of the major earthquake at the start of 2011, floods in Thailand which have pushed down exports, and a trade deficit with China that is five times higher than in 2010.
Japan has historically had large trade surpluses.
Links to other sites: Bloomberg, Financial Times, RTE
Japan has established a 20km no-go zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant and has announced that it will impose penalties to anyone breaking the rule.
According to government sources, the fines of up to US$1,200 are necessary to protect the health and safety of the area’s roughly 70,000 residents.
Up to 60 families have returned to the area and were found living in their homes in spite of official warnings.
Reactor cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear plant were damaged during the Tsunami that hit the country over a month ago, and have since been hit by a series of explosions which have leaked radiation into the air, ground and sea.
This Al Jazeera news report tells the story of former residents going in the no-go zone, trying to recuperate what was left behind
Link to: The Japan Times
Swiss embassy among those suggesting citizens leave
The Japanese emperor, in a highly unusual television appearance Wednesday 16 March, urged his country’s people to retain hope in the face of uncertainty over nuclear problems and the post-earthquake rescue efforts. The death toll has now risen above 4,000 and a number of foreign countries, including Switzerland, are suggesting their citizens leave, while others such as Iraq, Bahrain and Angola are closing their embassies, reports NHK Japanese TV
CNN carries extraordinary footage by an American environmentalist whose team decided to film a town’s last moments before they rushed up a hill and out of the path of the tsunami, which arrived just seven minutes after the earthquake stopped.
(correction) Swiss team that provided rescue work and logistics is not yet back from Japan
Switzerland and Japan (GenevaLunch) – A team of 25 Swiss rescuers and nine canine units have officially finished their search and rescue operations but are still in Japan where they helped in the search for survivors after the most powerful earthquake in recorded history struck the country, leaving more than 3,500 dead and at least 10,000 unaccounted for.
Swiss SHA team in Japan looking for survivors (photo SHA)
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) sent the team at the request of the Japanese government during the weekend following the earthquake and tsunami.
It is expected that the group will soon fly back to Switzerland but an official of the federal government confirmed to GenevaLunch on 18 March that it is not yet known when.
An earlier report indicating that the group was back in Switzerland is incorrect said Jenny Piaget, spokeswoman for the Swiss foreign affairs department.
The group was divided in two: 23 rescue specialists, including one trained in protection against radiation, worked on rescue operations while four emergency assistance implementation experts helped with logistics and operations.
The first group’s mission was to search for survivors using rescue dogs and tracking devices in the affected area.
Map provided by the SDC shows where the Swiss teams are in Japan
The specialists went to Minamisanrik, 100 km north of Sendai, where they helped local authorities and coordinated rescue operations with a United Nations team.
The second group, in Tokyo worked with Japanese authorities in on-site coordination and implementing the initial steps in emergency assistance.
The Swiss government has agreed to donate CHF1 million in support to the Japanese government.
Follow NHK TV from Japan, live coverage.
A canine unit and three Swiss SHA rescuers search for survivors(photo SHA)
Tsunami, quake official death toll at about 2,000 but 3,000 declared missing, figure for dead expected to rise sharply
The third, latest blast at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, at 06:10 local time Tuesday 15 March, accompanied by a fire, has caused radiation leaks at a level harmful to human health, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan confirmed later in the day. People within 20 km of the plant arer being evacuated and the prime minister warned anyone within 30 km to stay indoors.
The French Embassy, according to Aljazeera and Reuters, is warning that winds could carry the radiation to Tokyo within 10 hours. A no-fly zone has been established in a 30km area around the nuclear power plant, as experts continue to try to control problems with three reactors that shut down and appear to have suffered some damage from the 8.9 earthquake that struck Japan last week.
Tokyo Electric Power company has begun planned blackouts in several areas around the city, each expected to last a few hours, to reduce the impact on expected power shortages.
Links to other sites: Aljazeera, Japan Broadcasting Corp (Eng), Reuters
©2011 Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
The Red Cross has created a Family Links web site to connect families after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), working closely with the Japanese Red Cross, has created a Family Links web site to help people who are seeking other family members in the wake of the 11 March earthquake and tsunami north of Tokyo.
The list of those missing, created Friday, had scores of names by Saturday. The ICRC notes on the site that if you do not find the name you are looking for, be sure to return, as names are added continually.
The areas particularly affected are the prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Tochigi and Ibaraki, says the ICRC.
“People in Japan and abroad can register on the website to inform their family and friends that they are safe and provide their current contact details, while those looking for people can check the list for information. They can also register the names of missing family members and friends, encouraging them to get in touch,” the Geneva-based organization says.
The service is free and open to everyone. For those who don’t have easy Internet access or who need help using the site, the ICRC suggests contacting the nearest Red Cross office.
Update 15:15 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The International Federations of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has given indications of how its societies in the tsunami-affected areas, mainly Japan but also Indonesia and the Philippines are responding to the emergency. The 8.8 earthquake (some reports say 8.9), it notes, struck at 14:46 local time 11 March.
“A number of severe 6.4-magnitude aftershocks have followed.
Within minutes, the quake had triggered a tsunami that hit the eastern coast of Japan with 7-metre-high waves, which pushed inland and left a trail of destruction.
So far, at least 28 people are reported to have died, with many more injured or missing. The earthquake triggered fires and caused severe damage to buildings, leaving 4.4 million households without electricity.
The Japanese Red Cross immediately began an assessment exercise from its national headquarters and at branch level, mobilizing its staff and volunteers. The National Society deployed 11 national disaster response teams to carry out assessments and provide first aid and healthcare in the affected areas. Emergency relief planning is underway.”
Region on tsunami alert
An earthquake of this size, with the potential to trigger a tsunami, can cause waves to strike coastlines within a few minutes or even hours later. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, early-warning and disaster preparedness programmes were stepped up in Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies and it is these early-warning measures that have been put into full operation across the region today.”
The Swiss government announced Friday afternoon that it has offered rapid assistance to the Japanese government following the large (8.9) earthquake and massive tsunami that came in its wake Friday 11 March. It is waiting for clarification of needs from Japan before sending an emergency team of experts from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA).
Telephone links with Japan are under pressure from heavy use, the Swiss government confirms, and it is difficult to establish contact with Swiss citizens who have been in the regions hit by the quake and tsunami.
The SHA is also watching developments in neighbouring countries that are affected by the tsunami, particularly Indonesia and the Philippines, Bern says.
Estimates for the death toll are now in the hundreds, but with few official figures available.
Images of the tsunami that hit Japan Friday afternoon local time are daunting for the scale of the flooding and the speed with which it has swept large areas. Reporters in Japan say telephone lines are overwhelmed by people all trying to call at the same time, making it difficult to get a clear sense of what it happening. In Switzerland, TSR is providing images. (Ed. note: if you are outside Switzerland you are likely to have trouble viewing this)
The entire Pacific Bassin is under a tsunami warning except the US and Canadian continental shorelines. Hawaii has ordered a coastline evacuation and governments are now voicing fears that entire islands may have been washed over by massive waves.
The tsunami is the largest in Japan in 140 years, since records have been kept, Reuters reports.
In Geneva, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is organizing relief efforts with regional Asia/Pacific offices.
The Swiss Humanitarian Aid Office is holding its first meetings to assess the needs, in contact with Japanese authorities, GenevaLunch has been told, and the Military Disaster Relief team is on standby to work with the SHA if requested.
Videos that be can viewed outside Switzerland follow the images from TSR.
More bodies are being found on islands off the western coast of Sumatra, as Indonesian rescue workers reach the more isolated villages and bays along the coast, following the tsunami on 25 October. The death toll has climbed above 400, officials said 29 October, and hopes are receding that the 300 people said to be still missing will be found alive. Dozens of villages were swept away entirely when a 7.7 scale earthquake 240 km south of Padang caused the giant wave that swept over the islands off the coast of Sumatra.
The disaster highlights the difficulty of tsunami warnings reaching the people most vulnerable to natural disasters. Most often they are the most difficult to reach.
Links to other sites: BBC, CNN, Washington Post
Indonesia’s Mount Merapi finally erupted 26 October after days of threatening to and has killed at least at least 25 people, a day after a tsunami struck the islands of Pagai and swept away hundreds of people. More than 150 people are confirmed dead in the tsunami strike and 400 are missing.
Merami erupted 26 October and covered the surrounding area with ash. Civil protection authorities had evacuated 10,000 people, but many had refused to move, because they were reluctant to leave their homes and livestock.
Authorities were making slow progress reaching villagers on the islands of North and South Pagai because of the heavy rains and rough seas, two days after a 7.7-scale earthquake struck off the western coast of Sumatra.
Links to other sites: BBC, CNN, Washington Post
At least one person has died and others are trapped in Mexicali, a US-Mexico border town, following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey. The tremors shook buildings in Los Angeles and as far away as Las Vegas and Phoenix. Hundreds of people fled the beach at Tijuana, Mexico, although no tsunami warning was sounded, reports NPR.
Links to other sites: Los Angeles Times, NPR
Chile has been shaken by a midnight (06:34 GMT) earthquake that measured 8.8 on the Richter scale, say geologists in the US and China, who have upgraded their measurements of it. The earthquake was 1,000 times more powerful than the one that struck Haiti in January, experts said on CNN. The quake hit central Chile, 100km north of the city of Concepcion, and 350 from Santiago, the capital. The Chinese Earthquake Administration says it occurred at and “the epicenter was 35.8 degrees south latitude and 72.7 degrees west longitude, with a depth of 33 kilometers.” Sixty-four people are reported dead but numbers are expected to rise.
The airport in Santiago, which was was shaken for 90 minutes, is closed until further notice and according to the BBC, “Tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island nations. Alerts were also earlier issued for Antarctica and Central America.”
Reuters updates and background
Links to other sites: BBC, New York Times, Sydney Morning Herald, Xinhua
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Eight countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus and five in Southeast Asia are implementing early warning systems to protect against weather-related events, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Today 14 October is International Day for Disaster Reduction, and the agency is highlighting how early warning and disaster risk reduction can save many lives when extreme weather strikes. Similar projects were introduced in seven southeast European countries in 2007.
These national and regional cooperation projects are part of a concerted programme that relies on technical expertise and funding provided by the WMO, the World Bank, UNDP and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).
“Natural hazards are a part of life. But natural hazards only become disasters when people’s lives and livlihoods are swept away…” (Kofi Annan, World Disaster Reduction Day, 2003)
Churches in Samoa were packed Sunday with mourners remembering the more than 170 people who died in the tsunami that swept in following an 8.3 earthquake 29 September. About half of those who died are expected to be buried in mass graves. Entire villages were wiped out by the massive wave.
A tsunami washed over the Southern Pacific islands of Samoa early 30 September leaving at least a hundred people dead and many more injured. Six-metre high waves flooded up to 1.5 km inland, washing away entire villages in low-lying areas on both of the main islands of Samoa and American Samoa, a US dependency. The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale about 30 km underground and only 190km off the coast. A tsunami warning went out immediately but officials said there was practically no time to heed the warning. BBC, Reuters
In the Philippines, hundreds of thousands of exhausted survivors from the weekend’s torrential rains and floods have swamped shelters in churches, schools and gymnasiums. Relief officials say they cannot keep up. Agriculture ministry officials estimated that tropical storm Ketsana, known as Ondoy in the Philippines, had destroyed more than $60 million worth of income-generating crops. The storm has continued moving west, causing death and destruction in Vietnam and Cambodia. BBC, Manila Times
[with UN TV video] Geneva, Switzerland and Bonn, Germany (GenevaLunch) – Eighteen United Nations and non-UN aid agencies 8 June issued a joint statement arguing for “humanitarian impacts” to be included in the new climate change protocol. A December meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark of ministers from around the world will seek to replace the Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997. A new agreement must “set out a workable approach to help the world counter the impacts of extreme weather events and environmental degradation on vulnerable communities,” the Inter-Agency Standing Committee argues.
