Media Statement on behalf of Migrants Support Services Inc.

On behalf of Executive Committee members of Migrants Support Services, I would like to send a message of sympathy to the people of Japan following the massive earthquake which shook the country.

Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the dreadful disaster. We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the people of Japan and send our message of solidarity and prayers during this difficult times.

The death toll is unclear, hundreds of bodies have been found in the port city of Sendai.

It is a terrible reminder of the destructive power of nature.

The quake struck at 2.46pm local time (5.46am GMT) and was followed by a number of powerful aftershocks, seven of them of a magnitude of at least 6.3 – the size of the quake which struck New Zealand on February 22 Experts said that the main shock was as much as 8,000 times as powerful as the one which devastated Christchurch. The initial shock unleashed a huge tsunami that crashed into Japan’s eastern coastline, sweeping boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland.

Walls of water more than 13ft high swamped vast areas of low-lying farmland, with motorists racing to escape the deluge. In central Tokyo – hundreds of miles away – large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the streets for safety.

The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10km), about 80 miles (125km) off the eastern coast. The area is 240 miles (380km) north east of Tokyo.

This is the FIFTH largest recorded worldwide earthquake since 1900 according to US Geological Service. We can not even imagine the magnitude of loss at this stage.

It is an extremely sad moment for the entire world. The scale of destruction that has taken place in japan is still to be measured and it will take some time before the actual loss of life and property is determined. Millions of homes have been destroyed and the death toll may exceed thousands. There are more bodies recovered than the survivors. A very conservative estimate about the economic loss seems to be in excess of US$ 35 billion.

ENDS

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