On Friday the 11th of March, 2011, the island nation of Japan was rocked by one of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history. Centred just off the coast north of Tokyo, the earthquake triggered massive tsunami waves of up to 37.9 metres that travelled in some cases as far as ten kilometres inland, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
The combined earthquake and tsunami rendered the small archipelago a disaster-zone, with millions of households disconnected from electricity and water, over 12,000 people dead and many thousands more injured or missing.
Rated at 9.0 magnitude on the Richter scale, the earthquake was powerful enough to move parts of Japan’s coastline by up to four metres, shift the Earth on it’s axis by around 16.5cm and cause the planet to rotate slightly faster .
Dubbed “The Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster” by the Japanese Government, word of the devastation spread around the globe in moments with the aid of modern communications.
Governments and organisations from around the world stepped forward to offer assistance, proving that when disaster strikes anywhere on Earth, it affects us all, and we come together, all one, to help.
Immediately following the quake, world leaders including US President Barak Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan, President Benigno Aquino, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, and scores of others from virtually every nation sent condolences to Japan.
Barely an hour after the earthquake struck, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Israel's assistance, reportedly commenting that the people of Israel express their deep sorrow over the tragedy in Japan, and will work to provide any help required.
Meanwhile, the UN, the EU, the US and China all banded together to offer relief efforts, with rescue teams enabled to travel to Japan to lend assistance as well as emergency supplies and expertise.
Pledges of financial aid and assistance to rescue and relief services flooded in from around the world.
Israel sent a small team of aid workers shortly after the quake with volunteers from the Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid (IsraAID), which set up a fund for the Japan and Pacific Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency. The team represent assistance from 17 different organisations working together to give medical aid, search and rescue help to the disaster-struck people of Japan. The team have experience, having already provided relief at past major disasters, including the massive earthquake that struck Haiti last year .
Israel also deployed a unit from its voluntary Disaster Victims Identification organisation (ZAKA), which has extensive experience in disaster relief following the recent earthquake in Haiti, as well as after the hurricane in New Orleans and the major tsunami that struck Thailand in 2004.
Canada offered equipment and military forces to aid in rescue, and assembled a 17-member disaster victim identification team as well as nuclear experts to focus on the related impact on several of Japan’s nuclear power plants.
Slovakian Prime Minister Iveta Radičová offered a quarter of a million Euro for humanitarian efforts as well as organising a rescue team on offer to the Japanese government.
South Korea made financial assistance and relief supplies available and the South Korean Red Cross organisation pledged one million dollars for Japan’s Red Cross relief fund . Several rescue teams were also sent by the South Korean Government including one team of over one hundred people to work around damaged nuclear sites.
The European Union responded quickly to coordinate nations within the Union in providing requested emergency equipment including blankets, mattresses, water bottles, water tanks and water purification units. European nations also stepped forward to offer independent assessment of damaged Japanese nuclear facilities.
The United States sent two search and rescue teams comprising of 144 people and 12 rescue dogs to look for victims trapped in the rubble to join rescue teams over a dozen other nations.
Fire brigade search and rescue specialists from the UK were sent with specialised equipment including heavy lifting and cutting equipment for moving rubble to free trapped victims.
A team of 75 rescuers was sent from Russia to work in affected areas and Russia’s national nuclear corporation offered to help contain damage to Japan’s nuclear power plants if required.
Assistance even came from nations with strained relations with Japan, such as China. A special 15-member search-and-rescue team from China was one of the first to arrive to help in the disaster-zone while China's Defence Minister Liang Guanglie made a phone call to his Japanese counterpart offering support and condolences.
Even the southern Afghan city of Kandahar donated $50,000 to relief efforts in Japan. Kandahar Mayor Ghulam Haidar Hamidi reportedly commented that though the amount is small for a country like Japan, it is a show of support from the Kandahar people.
Several aid organisations were quick on the scene with medical supplies, including Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).
Showing that support is far-reaching and on-going, Israel has set up a vital field hospital in Japan to treat casualties from the disaster. A team of 50 Israeli health workers were sent by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), along with 18 tons of aid supplies.
The field hospital, running out of a series of caravans, has wards for surgery, intensive care, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and ophthalmology, in addition to a laboratory and pharmacy .
As well as treating people with injuries from the disaster, the team will provide much-needed basic medical assistance to the general population. As the nearest hospital is over ninety minutes away, survivors in the area still need medical care that the devastated infrastructure cannot provide.
According to a spokesperson from the Israeli field hospital, the experience Israeli doctors and health workers have in dealing with disaster and emergency situations makes them especially equipped to cope with the situation in Japan and offer the best assistance possible.
This inspiring coming-together in times of disaster shows that even though people around the world may be far apart, both geographically and culturally, we truly are all one.