By DPA,
Geneva: Concerns over radiation leaking from a damaged nuclear plant are making the difficult relief efforts in Japan even more complex as the number of evacuees has doubled, senior Red Cross officials said Wednesday.
“There are almost half a million people without homes, without livelihoods, or with no information on their families and loved ones,” said Paul Conneally at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva.
There were now “logistical challenges” to feeding these people and supplying them with medicines, he noted.
In the meantime, a website has been set up by the Red Cross to reconnect families separated by the earthquake and following tsunami which struck the Asian country Friday.
With over 30 percent of the country’s population considered elderly, the basic needs of many evacuees were extensive. Given the cold weather in the country, hypothermia remained a serious concern.
Transportation networks were severely damaged and power grids and water networks were also badly affected.
While relief workers had reached most areas, some pockets were still stuck without any assistance. Even in areas being accessed, people were often only receiving the most basic food rations, according to aid workers in Japan.
Officials expect there will be at least three more weeks of tough relief work ahead, before the longer term recovery aspect can really begin.
“This is a context like no other. This is the biggest crisis in Japan since 1945,” said Matthias Schamle, an IFRC top operational official.
He stressed that despite the nuclear concerns, the top priority for aid workers remained search and rescue operations and helping the survivors of Friday’s natural disaster.
“This is an evolving situation, we want to know and be clear what exactly the risks are,” said Schamle of the radiation.
“We don’t want a panic, but we also don’t want to be complacent,” he said, adding that “for the moment, our sense is that risks are being managed well”.
The Japan Red Cross had some two million volunteers, including helicopter pilots, medics and drivers, but financial resources were running thin, even in the world’s third largest economy.