Blog Archives - Page 24 of 48 - Canadian Medical Assistance Teams

CMAT providing clean drinking water for a community destroyed in the tsunami

2011 - Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Deployments

CMAT paramedic Martin Metz and OT Seiko Watanabe install a Nomad water purification system in the town of Aikawa Kitakamicho.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 – Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan- The CMAT Medical Team continues to work in the communities surrounding Ishinomaki, and is slowing winding up its operations in Japan. While visiting evacuation centres in several small villages along the coast, team members provided first aid and some primary medical care to the evacuees. Many of the patients that the team saw were elderly, and had chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Meanwhile, other members of the team were awaiting delivery of the Nomad water purification unit. The purchase of this portable water purification system manufactured by Noah Water Systems was made possible through the generous support of our donors, especially the Lotus Light Charity Society from Vancouver. The unit is capable of producing 25 gallons / 95 litres per minute or 36,000 gallons / 136,800 liters per day. The Nomad will satisfy the need for large volumes of safe drinking water using any fresh water source: well, lake, river, stream, and pond and even polluted floodwaters.

Magnitude 6.1 earthquake with tsunami warning rattles Japan – all CMAT and IMAT Team members reported safe.

2011 - Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Deployments

CMAT Paramedic Martin Metz conducts a search and recovery in Onagawa, about 15km east of Ishinomaki.

Sunday, March 27, 2011 – A magnitude-6.1 earthquake shook eastern Japan off the quake-ravaged coast on Monday morning, prompting Japan to issue a tsunami alert. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that a tsunami of up to 1.6 feet (a half meter) may wash into Miyagi Prefecture. The tsunami alert was localized to Japan. The alert was prompted by a quake that the U.S. Geological Survey measured at 7:23 a.m. Monday Japan time near the east coast of Honshu. The USGS said the quake was 3.7 miles (5.9 kilometres) deep.

CMAT Japan Deployment: March 26 update

2011 - Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Deployments

CMAT physician Dr. Carl Jarvis, and paramedic Martin Metz assess and treat patients in an evacuation centre near Ishnomaki.

Saturday, March 26, 2011 – Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan- The CMAT Medical Team has had a busy last few days. The team has been splitting into smaller groups of 4 to 5 individuals, and surveying the city of Ishinomaki and outlying coastal villages within a 30km radius.

Yesterday, a 5-member strike team collaborated with the Japanese military in the coastal town of Onagawa, approximately 15km east of Ishinomaki. The team was asked to assist with the search and recovery of victims in this small community which was flattened by the tsunami. Working their way through broken homes, rubble and bamboo forests, the team reported that in this area the waves were well over 100 feet high and deposited debris into the branches of tall trees. Of the estimated 15,000 people who lived in this community before the tsunami, only about 300 survived the disaster, and are now being housed in an evacuation centre on higher ground.

CMAT Japan Deployment: Team update

2011 - Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Deployments

CMAT Team Leader David Johnson, and IMAT Executive Director Chris Tompkins walk through the devastated town of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011: The team which left Vancouver yesterday has arrived in Tokyo. They were met by our kind drivers, and taken into the city for the night, to prepare for their six-hour drive north to Miyagi prefecture in the morning.

Dr. Jarvis’ Geiger counter (ionizing radiation detector) has found that the level of radiation in the air in Tokyo is even less than that in Halifax!

The highways to Tokyo are bottlenecked with travellers, and at times, only military vehicles and those with special permits may travel. Securing these special permits has proven challenging, but not impossible.

CMAT prepares for deployment of its Field Hospital Tuesday to disaster ravaged Japan.

2011 - Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Deployments

CMAT Director, Bill Coltart receives up to date information on the developing situation in Japan.

Sunday, March 20, 2011 – The CMAT Rapid Assessment Team has been working tirelessly since its return from Tokyo a few days ago, and has been monitoring the situation in Japan where a large 9.0 earthquake and tsunami last week devastated coastal cities and infrastructure. We have also been following the ensuing crisis with destroyed power plants, and have been keeping updated through international partners, colleagues, and other governmental sources.