Japan trying to contain Potential Nuclear Crisis

A explosion an earthquake-hit nuclear plant in Japan has sparked fears of a radiation leak at.

The walls and roof at Fukushima Number 1 nuclear power plant were destroyed in the blast which was confirmed by the Japanese Government.  

White smoke billowed into the sky and its feared that several worker  at the plant have been injured.  An evacuation radius has been extended to 12 miles and residents of the region have been urged to stay indoors, turn off air conditioning units and not to drink tap water.  Radioactivity in the control room at the plant is 1,000 times the normal level - and eight times the normal level in the area immediately outside the site.

All this as a result of the earthquake and resultant Tsunami only yesterday!  

Its a measure of the amount of natural and man-made disasters that seem to hit the world these days by how quickly aid of various descriptions leaps into action like well-oiled machinery.

Take for instance "Shelterbox" - this UK (Cornwall) based charity saw a gap in the aid responses and in 1999 one man, Tom Henderson, took the steps to fill that gap.  He saw the aid response to most disasters was in the form of food and medicine.  But there was very little assistance given in terms of proper shelter.

The Mission:  To provide shelter, warmth and dignity to families who have been affected by disasters worldwide.

So with the Japanese earthquake made so much worse by the Tsunami and now the possibility of nuclear fall-out its charities like these that charge to the rescue. 

Tom Henderson, ShelterBox Founder and CEO, said: ‘At present the scale of the disaster is difficult to measure. What we do know is that the combination of such a large earthquake followed by the tsunami has the potential to cause significant damage across the Pacific Rim.

‘We have aid pre-positioned locally and a member of the ShelterBox Response Team stationed in the Philippines enabling an immediate response.’

So for Japan the world rallies to help and the people of Japan can only wait and watch the result of the latest disaster - the explosion at the Nuclear Plant.  

Is this too much for one nation to bear in less than two days?

Like all charities - Shelterbox needs funds - and what better place to give your donation?  (or volunteer help).

Follow the link and DONATE now! 

Indonesian Earthquake

OGYAKARTA, Indonesia — There are growing fears for children lost when there was a hurried exodus following a series of major eruptions from the most dangerous volcano, Mount Merapi (Mountain of Fire).

Over 300,000 people are living in temporary shelters after evacuating a 20-kilometre "danger zone" around Mount Merapi, which has been spewing ash and heat clouds since late October.

Its thought that tens of thousands of people fled their homes in the central island of Java after the massive eruption on Friday and many families were separated. Makbul Mubaruk, a coordinator for the volunteers said "We're concerned about children who are yet to be united with their parents,"  The volunteers  are trying to reunite separated families.Hundreds were still searching for family members.

Bodies are still being pulled out of the mess and sludge that is left after villages were incinerated by boiling hot gas and rock.  A total of 151 people have lost their lives since Merapi began erupting again on October 26 and the count is set to increase.

Although the intensity has decreased since yesterday, activity is still high and its status is still high alert Government volcanologist Surono said.

Dozens of active volcanoes make up the Indonesian archipelago as it straddles major tectonic fault lines between the Pacific and Indian oceans. This country is also dealing with the aftermath of a tsunami which smashed into villages on the remote Mentawai island chain, off the coast of western Sumatra, on October 25, killing over 400 people.

Ash from Merapi is keeping the local airport at Yogyakarta closed and obviously tourist sites also remain closed and the constantly grumbling volcano will shorten President Obama's already abbreviated homecoming - and this is clouding the island nation's hopes for a photo op tourism boost from today's twice-delayed visit.

All is not lost however, as the President told his hosts that he hopes to return to the country where he spent 4 years of his childhood, and bring his daughters Malia and Sasha too!!

A statue of the young US President Barack Obama, or

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