Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami
March 2011
The Situation:
On March 11, one of the largest earthquakes in history with a magnitude of 9.0 struck Japan near the town of Sendai. The earthquake triggered 30-foot tsunami waves, devastating Japan’s coastal areas, and sent tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The initial earthquake has been followed by more than 100 aftershocks. As of March 25th, more than 27,500 people have been confirmed dead or remain unaccounted for -- 10,066 deaths and 17,443 missing.
While access to food, water, electricity and fuel are the most pressing needs of communities affected, local officials are also assessing the impact to new technology such as nuclear power plants, transportation and communication networks. A continued focus is on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, located in the most heavily hit area and the fear that damage sustained by the plant may lead to nuclear fallout.
The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) has reported minimal damage to its churches in Tokyo and those near the epicenter, particularly Sendai Lutheran Church. The President and General Secretary of JELC were in Malaysia attending a Lutheran World Federation leadership conference at the time of the earthquake. The ELCA, through the churchwide unit for Global Mission, currently has 22 missionaries serving in schools and parishes of the JELC; all have been found to be safe and the ELCA is taking precautionary measures to ensure continued safety during the nuclear crisis.
ELCA Response:
The ELCA has an expansive network of global companions through which it engages in relief and rehabilitation following major international disasters. Our church’s ongoing relationships – both Lutheran and ecumenical – enable us to engage swiftly and effectively with communities in need, as they recover from disasters like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We are working very closely with the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Lutheran World Federation, and Church World Service in providing direct assistance to survivors of this disaster – and we’ll continue to walk with them as they rebuild their lives. Please continue to pray for the people of Japan and for our companion church the JELC, as they face dangers relating to the damaged nuclear facilities and the massive humanitarian crisis resulting from the earthquake and tsunami.
For more detailed information on your church’s response please read the following four situation reports:
What you can do:
Pray:
As the news of the earthquake was announced at the leadership conference in Malaysia, a representative from the Australian Evangelical Lutheran Church, a church that has recently dealt with massive flooding and an earthquake in New Zealand, shared that of all the outpouring of help from the international community received “prayer was the most important gift.” Ally Streed, an ELCA missionary deployed by the Global Mission unit and stationed in Saitama, stated, “Please keep the people of Japan (and just Japan in general) in your thoughts and prayers. This is the biggest earthquake they’ve seen since the Kobe earthquake of 1995.”
For some examples of prayers you can include in your worship and personal prayer life please use the ELCA Worship resource: Prayers for Earthquakes and Tsunamis | en español 
Study and Share:
As you follow the situation in secular media, please check out these other resources for stories of how the ELCA and its partners are engaging in the situation.
Give:
Those who give to shared mission support and ELCA World Hunger are already helping to fund the ongoing work in Japan and the deployment of mission personnel through ELCA Global Mission. Special needs and opportunities have arisen in response to the current crisis. The ELCA invites gifts to ELCA Disaster Response in order to continue its work in Japan and surrounding region.
You may provide support in the following ways:
- Give by phone at 800-638-3522
- Donate online
- Send checks to:
ELCA Disaster Response
39330 Treasury Center
Chicago, IL 60694
Memo: Pacific Earthquake and Tsunami
Thank you for your prayerful consideration.
Image Credits: (top right) ELCA 3/2011
(middle left) ACT/CWS/Takeshi 4/2011