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About the Great East Japan Earthquake

About the damage incurred upon sailors in northeastern Japan

Relief activity among Japanese sailors for sailors affected by the disaster

Charity flags and stickers are sold at international regatta venues

Sail for Gold – Charity Flag & Sticker Campaign Activity Report

ISAF Youth Worlds – Charity Flag & Sticker Campaign Activity Report

On Friday, March 11th, 2011, at 14:46(JST), the greatest earthquake ever observed in Japan had struck northeastern and eastern Japan with a magnitude of 9.0 (the world’s 4th biggest earthquake since 1900). The quake originated about 450km northeast from Tokyo (about 130km from northeastern coast of Japan) in the Pacific Ocean which shook half of Japan and triggered massive Tsunami that swept away almost 550km along the northeastern coast. Tsunami reached on average 10 meters high, with 38.9 meters at the highest. The damage was just devastating, as cities and towns that long prospered in fishery and agriculture were swallowed by the Tsunami in matter of minutes, leaving the area with nothing but tons of debris. The death toll has reached over 14,700 with more than 11,000 people still missing, and these numbers are yet to rise.

In addition to this natural disaster, the quake had considerably damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant residing on the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan (located about 225km NNE from Tokyo). Residents of 20km radius from the nuclear plant were forced to evacuate for safety measures to prevent possible radiation exposure.
The evacuees reached over 400,000 people after the disaster, and 130,000 people are still forced to live in evacuation sites after 2 months from the quake.

Nations all over the world soon reached over to Japan with generous rescue aids and supply aids to help us combat this unprecedented natural disaster. People in Japan, both in public and private sectors, has also risen soon after and started moving forward for recovery.

Now, Japan’s heart and soul is united as ONE. It may be a long journey for full recovery, but with the resilience of Japan and every one of us uniting, we feel that the day can come sooner.