Japan’s northeastern coast was struck by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake followed by a giant tsunami on March 11. Huge waves engulfed towns and villages, sweeping away houses, cars, boats, and trains. The affected area remains a wasteland of mud and debris, and over 135,000 people are still sleeping on the floors of cramped evacuation centers. The misery has been compounded by fears of radiation leaks from damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima power plant.

Samaritan’s Purse quickly responded, sending a disaster response team to Sendai, the city nearest the epicenter of the earthquake and tsunami. In addition to buying supplies locally, we airlifted an additional 93 tons of emergency aid to Japan on a 747 jumbo jet just a week after the twin disasters. Our team continues to work with local church partners to distribute essential items to tens of thousands of people in the hardest hit communities.

Transportation remains a big challenge on the road to recovery. Nearly every car in the affected area was destroyed, and the country is facing a fuel shortage. In response to this need, Samaritan’s Purse has purchased hundreds of bicycles that we are giving to churches and evacuation centers, so people can check them out when they need them.

To help displaced families return to their homes, Samaritan's Purse is providing pastors with small, inexpensive pickup trucks, each one loaded with a generator, power washer, and clean-up tools. Our team is training Japanese Christians in how to do “mud-outs,” and we are setting up tents to serve as bunkhouses for volunteers coming from churches elsewhere in Japan.

Distribution of essential items continues from our warehouse in Sendai. Supplies distributed include:

Samaritan's Purse , Japan , Emergency Relief , Our Response in Japan