Japan Tsunami

World Vision Australia ceased calling for donations to the Japan Disaster Appeal in early April 2011.

We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our supporters in response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We thank our supporters for their amazing response to this humanitarian disaster.

World Vision globally raised the funds required to implement a 90 day relief response and a subsequent rehabilitation program for communities in the most severely affected areas in north-east Japan.  In the first 90 days, approximately 83,000 people were supported in evacuation centres by cleaning of the centres and the creation of community kitchens.  People were also assisted through the distribution of relief items and the provision of psycho-social support for children and the elderly.

For details on World Vision’s response during the first year, see our updates posted below.

If you would like to support World Vision Australia to prepare for other emergencies around the world, please make a donation to our General Emergencies fund. This enables World Vision to pre-stock and position life-saving supplies, and ensures trained staff can be on the scene quickly when emergencies occur in developing countries.

Help World Vision get those affected by disasters get back on their feet. Become an Emergency Responder

World Vision's response

Within 48 hours of the disaster, World Vision deployed a rapid assessment team to the most affected areas of Miyagi and Iwate.  World Vision provided relief items, established community kitchens for evacuation centres, and ensured children had a fun, safe and educational place to be during the early stages of the emergency response.

During the rehabilitation phase of our response, World Vision continues its focus on children’s development and protection, and has been working on livelihood recovery in the fishing industry, community development projects with a focus on senior citizens, child-focused disaster preparedness, and assistance to evacuees from the Fukushima area.

Four years ago, a wall of water the height of a 12-storey building hit north-east Japan. It wiped out villages, took thousands of lives and destroyed countless homes.

People and nations across the world stepped in to help. World Vision's generous supporters enabled us to assist almost 300,000 people whose lives were shattered.  

Images of the aftermath are unforgettable: ships resting on fields of debris kilometres from the shore; whole towns turned to flat, grey splinters of waste where once there were schools, hospitals and homes. Even for a highly-developed, organised nation such as Japan, the 11 March earthquake and tsunami was a disaster of unimaginable scale.

Helping fishermen to rebuild their livelihoods was just one of the programs run to help families regain their independence and strengthen communities. 

World Vision worked with local organisations and the Japanese government to improve the lives of tsunami survivors. Spaces for children to play and study safely were set up in the early days of the emergency, and longer-term programs such as educational scholarships are continuing the support.

Children and their families in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures have been helped to be self-sufficient again through a variety of relief and reconstruction programs. Children in Minamisanriku also played an integral part in the redesign of their town, as part of a child participation project run by World Vision.

Stocking evacuation centres with relief supplies and installing solar panels and water wells was part of a disaster preparedness project to protect children during future emergencies.