Pinoys near Japan nuclear plants advised to evacuate

Philippine officials in Japan on Saturday asked Filipinos living near a nuclear plant in Tokyo to heed local authorities' advisory to evacuate the area. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Fukushima Prefecture authorities sought the evacuation even as they assured the radiation released will be "very low." "Fukushima Prefecture authorities asked residents living within the 10-mile [16-km] radius of the Tokyo Electric Power Corp's Fukushima No. 1 Plant to evacuate, as it is set to open the valve of the containers housing its reactors to release rising pressure. The level of radiation released from the plant will be very low and the safety of the residents is assured," the DFA said in a news release on its website. It said the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo has asked Filipinos in the area to heed the advisory, in the aftermath of a magnitude-8.9 quake and tsunami. Also, the Embassy advised the Filipino community to take necessary precautions, report any incidents of injuries or fatalities, and request for assistance. The Embassy likewise asked Filipinos to monitor developments in their areas and contact the Embassy through the hotline numbers or email to report on their condition. "Most communication services are still down, but Internet services remain operational," Ambassador Manuel Lopez said. The advisory also echoed the advice of Japanese authorities to proceed to city halls or fire stations in cases of emergency so they can receive instructions. In Tokyo, Lopez said the Embassy is closely monitoring developments and establishing contact with Filipino community members and honorary consulates in their area of jurisdiction. It is also answering queries from the hotline numbers and the email address it had set up in the light of the crisis. The Embassy also reported that it was able to get in touch with the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Sapporo in Hokkaido, who was directed to monitor the situation of some 1,247 Filipinos living there. In Osaka, the Philippine Consulate General there reported it was able to contact Filipino community leaders in Nagoya and Mie prefectures, areas lying along Japan’s eastern (Pacific) coast nearest the epicenter of the earthquake. "The community leaders reported to the Consulate General that so far, there are no casualties nor injuries of Filipinos in their areas. The Consulate continues to communicate with the leaders in these areas, especially those residing in the Kyushu areas," the DFA said. "To this time, the Consulate General has not received any report of any casualty or injury of Filipino nationals in the 28 prefectures under its jurisdiction," added Consul General Maria Lourdes Ramiro-Lopez. The Consulate covers Aichi, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Gifu, Hiroshima, Hyogo, Ishikawa, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Nara, Oita, Okayama, Osaka, Saga, Shiga, Shimane, Tokushima, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama and Yamaguchi. Meanwhile, the Embassy and the Consulate General are maintaining close contact with city and prefectural governments, and have a full complement of officers and staff in place monitoring the situation of Filipinos and contacting them for updates. The Embassy hotline numbers are (00813) 5562-1570, (00813) 5562-1577 and (00813) 5562-1590. Its email address is emergency@philembassy.net. It also advised the Filipino community to communicate with the Philippine Consulates as soon as telephone operations normalize. The numbers are (06) 6910-7881 for the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka, (011) 614-8090 for the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Sapporo and (019) 629-9139 for the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Morioka. There are some 84,414 Filipino nationals in western and southern regions of the country, while there are some 224,558 Filipino nationals in central and northern regions of Japan. There are about 90,000 Filpino nationals in the western region. Altogether, there are a total of 305,972 Filipinos in Japan. In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has set up hotline numbers and an e-mail address for those who would like to inquire about the conditions of Filipinos in Japan. The hotline numbers at the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs' Crisis Management Center are 834-4646 and 834-4580. Requests for information may also be sent through e-mail address dfaoumwa.cmc@gmail.com. —JV, GMA News