UNA junior Yoshihiro Sato, an international student from Yokohama, Japan, felt helpless March 11 as a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami hit the Tohoku region of the Pacific Ocean.

Sato’s sister, who lives in Ohio, was on the phone with their mother the moment the earthquake struck Japan. His mother, who was using a cell phone to talk to Sato’s sister, was on her way to visit their grandmother’s apartment, which was located near the ocean.

Minutes after Sato’s mother and grandmother found refuge at a nearby motel, a massive tsunami swept over Japan’s northern islands, which, in combination with the earthquake, has caused more than 9,000 deaths and counting, according to the National Police Agency of Japan.

Sato, an executive member of the Japanese University Meal Project, has worked tirelessly with other JUMP members to raise money at UNA for relief efforts in Japan.

“It’s hard for students to realize how much the crisis of Japan affects them,” he said. “But if the people in Alabama and in other states show how much they care about what’s going on in Japan, we can help those affected feel more encouraged.”

The earthquake and tsunami have left millions of people in Japan without electricity and water, and wreaked havoc on buildings, roads and other infrastructure throughout the area. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the disaster has been the “toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan” in the last 65 years since World War II.

Since the disaster, the Fukushima nuclear plant has experienced severe damage, including explosions that have caused a radiation leak from the facility. Residents living within 12 miles of the plant were evacuated from the area and Japanese officials are encouraging Americans to stay at least 50 miles from the plant.

Katherine Ray, a 2009 UNA graduate who now teaches in Fuji-shi, Japan as a native English instructor, did not experience the full magnitude of the 9.0 earthquake from her city, but was in the epicenter of a smaller 6.0 earthquake that occurred. Ray and others are currently on 3-4 hour scheduled blackouts to help conserve energy.

“Japan is still dealing with the aftermath and will be for many weeks, months and years to come,” she said. “There are constant searches for missing people, deliveries of supplies up north because there are food and clothing shortages and rolling blackouts across the country to deal with the energy crisis..”

2008 UNA alumna Yuki Kimura, who lives in Ichihara, Japan, had experienced earthquakes before the March 11 disaster, but was taken aback by the magnitude of the 9.0 quake. She and her co-workers hid under their desks to protect themselves from falling objects during the earthquake.

“I don’t know anyone who lost their life,” she said. “One of my friends at work was actually traveling on business to the area where the tsunami damage was affected. He said he might not have had his life if he hadn’t been evacuated to a different place.”

The fear of continuing aftershocks and threat of radiation impact the people of Japan today, and World Bank predicts that the country will spend the next five years working to rebuild construction projects to restore lost jobs to the affected areas.

Dr. Alex Takeuchi, associate professor of sociology who was born in Japan, said his family living in the Japanese metropolitan cities is safe and hasn’t been directly affected by the earthquake or tsunami.

“Everything that happens elsewhere has effects and influences on everything we do here in the U.S.,” he said. “The geographic distance becomes less and less important.”

To donate to the fund, contact Jennifer Brown at 256-765-4248 or stop by the JUMP table in the GUC Atrium from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. all week through April.