Japan quake: Red Cross / Red Crescent family-links website
13-03-2011 News Release 11/56
Geneva (ICRC) – As the number of people missing following Japan's earthquake continues to grow, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish have been added to Japanese and English on the website pages set up by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) together with its worldwide Red Cross and Red Crescent partners to assist people anxious for news about loved ones in the disaster area.
"An initial survey carried out in conjunction with the Japanese Red Cross Society revealed that large numbers of foreigners – in particular Brazilians, Chileans and Peruvians – were living in the areas affected by the disaster," explained Olivier Dubois, deputy head of the ICRC's Central Tracing Agency and Protection Division. "Hence our decision to make the website available in various languages, including Portuguese and Spanish."
People in Japan and abroad can register on the website (www.familylinks.icrc.org) to inform their family and friends that they are safe and provide their current contact details, while those looking for people can check the list for information. They can also register the names of missing family members and friends, encouraging them to get in touch.
This humanitarian service, free of charge and available to all, is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's response to the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that hit north-east Japan on 11 March, triggering a tsunami and causing extensive loss of life.
For further information, please contact:
Philippe Stoll, ICRC Geneva: +41 22 730 31 40 or +41 79 536 92 49
Hitomi Makabe, ICRC Tokyo: + 81-80-4142-9723
For general information on restoring family links go to: www.familylinks.icrc.org.
For all information on the Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement's response to the massive earthquake in Japan, please visit:
