Ministries’ Heads of Preparedness meet at Ministry for Foreign Affairs to discuss earthquake situation in Japan
Press release 89/2011
11 March 2011
Efforts ongoing to provide assistance to Finnish nationals in Japan – Finland prepared to provide expert assistance
A massive earthquake struck Japan early Friday morning Finnish time, triggering a major tsunami. Both the quake and the tsunami caused extensive damage, but details on the extent of damage were not immediately available.
The Government’s Heads of Preparedness convened at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to discuss the state administration’s response to the natural disaster in Japan. The Crisis Management Centre (CMC) under the Ministry of the Interior guarantees that assistance is forthcoming and that Finland can send expert assistance if requested.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is aware of at least 500 Finnish nationals in Japan. The Finnish Embassy and the Ministry are working to contact all Finnish nationals in the affected area. The Ministry has set up a telephone helpline for concerned relatives at +358 800 04444; the same number should be used from Japan if the local Embassy cannot be reached.
The Embassy and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are providing regular updates through their websites, Facebook and Twitter. Telephone connections with Japan remain sporadic.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is preparing to dispatch a consular rapid deployment team to the Finnish Embassy in Tokyo.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is also using SMS services to contact Finnish nationals. People receiving a text message can indicate that they are safe, that they want to be contacted, or that they are not in the affected area.
Additional information: Pasi Tuominen, Director of the Unit for Consular Assistance tel. +358 40 578 8185, Timo Härkönen, Director of Government Security tel. +358 40 717 6000
The Facebook ja Twitter websites of the Finnish Embassy in Tokyo: