On July 28, a powerful earthquake struck Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu, causing casualties and injuries, widespread power and water outages, and significant damage to homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure, including a partial building collapse. Frequent aftershocks continue to rattle the region, and authorities have warned that further strong tremors are likely in the coming days, which is complicating response efforts and raising concern about additional damage to already-weakened structures. Approximately 300,000 people were instructed to evacuate to safety.
International Medical Corps is mobilizing to respond. We are working with a partner on the ground to conduct damage and needs assessments, though progress has been somewhat delayed by the ongoing aftershocks. Given the widespread power and water outages, as well as initial reports of significant damage to infrastructure and housing, we anticipate a high number of displaced households. As a result, our response is expected to focus on the distribution of essential hygiene items and other critical relief supplies to meet the immediate needs of affected communities.
Your gift will directly support International Medical Corps' ability to procure and deliver urgently needed relief supplies and to deploy and sustain staff who can respond quickly as needs become clearer in the days ahead.
*Please note for recurring donations: Once we have determined that the community can continue to respond to the after-effects of this emergency without us, we will scale back our response efforts. At that time, we will redirect your future donations where they are needed most, to help us respond to future emergencies caused by conflict, disaster or disease.
