Situation in Sendai after the earthquake

Yesterday I wrote an e-mail to Tae Matsuki (our contact in Sendai). She was the person designated by Sendai City Hall to guide us during our visit, showing us various places of interest and taking us to lunch and dinner on several occasions. Both she and the members of the Miyagi Hispanic Society were extremely kind to Vicente and me and I am glad they are all well. Below I copy the emails we are sending each other:

March 12, 2011

Hi Tae,

I hope you are all well. I am so sorry to hear about the earthquake disaster and I am very sorry for you. I imagine you are all overwhelmed with the situation right now. Please let me know if I can do anything to help.

A big hug and lots of encouragement!

Greetings to the friends of the Hispanic association in Sendai.

Joan Mira

March 13, 2011

Hi Joan:

Thank you very much for your kind message. Thank God, I and my family members are fine. Although some rooms in the house were damaged, having enough space to sleep and do daily things, we don't need to take shelter. At my house, on Saturday night, the electricity service was resumed.

Regarding the water supply, from the beginning no problem. The only thing missing is gas. They say it will take a few weeks for the resumption of gas service... Well, I am patient and lucky, because, in other areas of the city, water and electricity are still cut off. I believe that here, downtown, the damage was minimal. So the members of the Miyagi Hispanic Society who received you at dinner will be fine because they also live downtown.

However, in other neighborhoods of the city, hundreds of people are said to have been killed by the tsunami. The problem is that, for the time being, even rescue forces such as the Ground Self-Defense Force cannot get close to these places, due to the pile of rubble and lots of muddy water. For this reason, it will take a long time to know exactly the outcome of this catastrophe.

When the situation calms down, I will tell you more details.

Once again thank you for your kind solidarity, best regards.

Tae

March 13, 2011

Hi Tae!

I am very glad to hear from you. Everyone is following very closely everything that is happening in Japan and the truth is that your words reassure me a little. I hope you can get back to normal as soon as possible and that the damage is as little as possible.

This article by Héctor, (an alicantino who has been living in Tokyo for several years) I liked it very much. It is a little story of love during the earthquake, narrated in first person. Narrated in first person, it's very touching! I hope you like it.

Please Tae, send me when you can more information about how the situation evolves and some photos (if you can). If you know of any bank account number or way we can show solidarity with those affected, I'm sure some of the followers of La Ruta Samurai will be interested to know.

On this page of the blog of La Ruta Samurai](http://www.rutasamurai.com/Japon/situacion-en-sendai-despues-del-terremoto.html) I am putting the emails you send me. Is that ok?

Best regards and lots of encouragement,

Joan

March 15, 2011

Through the Japanese embassy in Spain I have got some information in case anyone wants to help:

DONATIONS TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF THE EARTHQUAKES IN JAPAN*.

*Update on the receipt of aid and donations to help the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region and Pacific coast on March 11.

The Japanese Red Cross Society is ready to receive aid and donations from individuals, foreign companies, organizations and institutions, as well as aid from the governments of various countries.

The following are the different modalities for those individuals and institutions, both private and public, who are interested in contributing directly to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

DONATIONS FROM PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS AND FOREIGN GROUPS

1. Donations for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami (Note: these donations will be sent to all those affected by the earthquake and tsunami through the Japanese Red Cross Society, which will deliver them to the local community Relief Distribution Committees, which in turn will be responsible for the delivery of the aid). If a receipt is required, please indicate this in the appropriate box.

• Bank Name: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
• Branch Name: Ginza
• Account Number: 8047670 (Regular Account)
• SWIFT Code: SMBC JP JT
• Name of Beneficiary: The Japanese Red Cross Society
• Beneficiary's address: 1-1-3 Shiba-Daimon, Minato-ku, Tokyo JAPAN

2. Donations for the lifesaving activities of the Japanese Red Cross Society. If a receipt is required, please indicate it in the appropriate box.

• Name of bank: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
• Branch Name: Ginza
• Account Number: 8047705 (Regular Account)
• SWIFT Code: SMBC JP JT
• Name of Beneficiary: The Japanese Red Cross Society
• Beneficiary's address: 1-1-3 Shiba-Daimon, Minato-ku, Tokyo JAPAN