Margaret
Aguirre
Director,
Global
Communica5ons
310.826.7800
maguirre@Interna5onalMedicalCorps.org
March
18,
2011,
Los
Angeles,
Calif.
–
Interna5onal
Medical
Corps’
emergency
response
team
is
assessing
the
post-‐disaster
needs
of
isolated
coastal
villages
north
of
Sendai
that
have
yet
to
receive
humanitarian
assistance.
They
found
acute
shortages
of
food,
water
and
some
medicines,
and
survivors
in
need
of
mental
health
support.
Many
are
without
heat
in
an
area
where
temperatures
have
dipped
below
freezing
and
snow
has
been
falling
–
puNng
survivors
in
danger
of
exposure.
Mean5me,
disrupted
supply
chains
and
fuel
shortages
have
caused
most
convenience
stores
to
close.
On
Friday,
Interna5onal
Medical
Corps’
team
visited
three
heavily
destroyed
towns
north
of
Sendai
-‐
one
in
par5cular,
East
Matsushima,
was
virtually
washed
away
by
the
tsunami.
“We
saw
first-‐hand
how
extensive
the
material
and
human
damage
of
the
tsunami
and
earthquake
was,”
said
team
member
Dr.
Mutsuo
Ikuhara.
“Displaced
people
lost
everything
and
require
much
emo5onal
support.
We
are
deeply
moved
by
the
strength
and
dignity
of
the
people
and
their
terrible
suffering.”
Based
on
its
assessments
at
evacua5on
centers
and
a
regional
hospital
where
cri5cal
pa5ents
have
been
referred,
Interna5onal
Medical
Corps
will
work
to
fill
cri5cal
gaps
-‐
including
addressing
the
need
for
food,
water
and
chronic
medicines
at
shelters,
providing
psychological
support,
and
if
needed
deploying
four
medical
teams
currently
on
standby.
In
its
assessment
in
Sendai,
Interna5onal
Medical
Corps
found
that
although
the
coastal
area
had
suffered
large-‐scale
damage
to
infrastructure,
the
main
city
is
func5oning
rela5vely
well,
with
electricity
and
regular
services
being
restored.
The
team
visited
University
Hospital,
a
1,250-‐bed
facility,
and
found
it
func5oning
reasonably
well.
There
are
some
shortages
in
food,
water
and
basic
supplies,
with
people
forming
long
lines
for
available
supplies.
There
is
also
a
no5ceable
fuel
shortage.
While
Japan
has
significant
capacity
to
manage
emergencies,
the
magnitude
of
this
disaster
–
coupled
with
the
threat
of
nuclear
exposure
–
has
been
large
enough
to
warrant
interna5onal
assistance.
Interna5onal
Medical
Corps
is
providing
logis5cal
support
and
technical
exper5se
to
local
health
authori5es
based
on
its
more
than
25
years
of
experience
in
disaster
response,
including
following
the
2004
Southeast
Asian
Tsunami
and
the
2010
Hai5
earthquake.
The
9.0
earthquake
on
March
11
triggered
a
tsunami
that
buried
many
northern
towns
in
a
wall
of
water.
Japanese
news
media
report
that
up
to
10,000
people
may
have
been
killed,
but
much
of
the
north
is
s5ll
inaccessible.
It
has
been
described
as
the
largest
earthquake
on
record
for
Japan.
Hundreds
of
aaershocks
con5nue
to
shake
the
country,
with
a
second
large
earthquake
of
7.4-‐magnitude.
Thousands
in
the
tsunami
zone
are
without
water,
heat,
electricity,
or
phone
service,
and
some
areas
have
been
en5rely
cut
off.
On
Friday,
President
Barack
Obama
said
the
United
States
was
prepared
to
help
however
needed.
In
addi5on,
there
have
been
explosions
at
nuclear
power
plants
in
northern
Japan,
compounding
the
crisis.
While
the
level
of
radia5on
leaked
is
unknown,
Japanese
authori5es
have
ordered
large-‐scale
evacua5ons
surrounding
the
reactor
zones.
Interna5onal
Medical
Corps
has
been
a
leading
responder
to
emergencies
in
more
than
50
countries,
including
the
2004
Southeast
Asian
tsunami,
2005
Pakistan
earthquake,
2010
Hai5
earthquake
and
Pakistan
floods.
Since
its
incep*on
nearly
25
years
ago,
Interna*onal
Medical
Corps’
mission
has
been
consistent:
relieve
the
suffering
of
those
impacted
by
war,
natural
disaster
and
disease,
by
delivering
vital
health
care
services
that
focus
on
training.
This
approach
of
helping
people
help
themselves
is
cri*cal
to
returning
devastated
popula*ons
to
self-‐reliance.
For
more
informa*on
visit
our
website
at
www.Interna*onal
Medical
Corps.org.
Also
see
us
on
Facebook
and
follow
us
on
TwiHer.