Overdose

Some countries find it hard to recover from one crisis. It usually takes years to even find some level of stability and return to “normal”. So what happens when you have two natural disasters back to back, which then leads to major social and healthcare crisis?

On March 11, 2011 an earthquake with a Magnitude of 9.0 devastated Japan. Subsequently, the island nation suffered a tsunami.  But the natural disasters were only the beginning, as the nuclear catastrophe that followed not only lead to radiation poisoning but also resulted in damages in the environment and the overall financial system. At the time more than 200,000 persons were evacuated with over 100,000 still not able to return to their homes 4 years later. The tragedy has left mental scars that will take years to heal.

The earthquake led to three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant having a meltdown.  This lead to high levels of radiation poisoning in the nearby areas.  Prior to the earthquake the government felt that due to their advanced technology, that they were prepared to handle any foreseen calamity.  But as we look back four years later, we realize that was not the case.  All nuclear plants have remained closed since then, despite lobbyist pressuring the government to reopen them.  However as a result, the Japanese government has focused in natural renewable energy sources. Meanwhile, the now closed nuclear power plant, failed to report continued radioactive rainwater leaks for several months afterwards.  Leaving local residents upset due to the proximity to water reserves, but this has not stop lobbyists from trying to reopen the plant.

However, the risk and consequences of the disaster has not only affected Japan. In the following years countries such as Russia, Kyrgyzstan and as far as the Caribbean has detected cars arriving with dangerously high levels of radiation from Japan. This provides a serious health risk, as radiation levels are not always checked when cars are imported, and dealers have gone as far as to try finding methods to avoid detection.  This has led to Public Health and watchdog groups in several countries to heighten awareness  and insist on the increased screening of all vehicles from Japan.

It is important to remember that natural disasters and crisis not only have devastating affects to those directly affected by it.  We must remember that the health of a nation, involves the environmental aspects and it is important that governments keep this in mind when making political decisions. We can never forget that a crisis in one extreme of the world has far reaching consequences and it is important to be aware and vigilant of global disasters.

Crisis 4 Dummies