Although some 30,000 people remain missing and uncounted for after Japan’s terrible earthquake and subsequent tsunami last Friday, according to Kyodo News, some 15,000 citizens have been rescued and about 550,000 evacuated to 2,600 shelters yesterday.

Amid the terrible devastation lies the hope of a resilient people that they can rebuild and recover from the ravages of what is without a doubt one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the world. Hope shines resplendent with the many rescues that are now in progress and in the fact that Japan is blessed with a disaster preparedness program and a solid infrastructure. It was inferior construction materials and techniques in Haiti that greatly exacerbated both the damage done and the overwhelming loss of life after the earthquake that struck Port au Prince last January.

Rescues are difficult. Despite the horror, there is good news for two survivors who were pulled out of the rubble alive four days after the 9.0 earthquake struck. One, a 70-year-old woman was found alive in her home in the town of Otsuchi. Suffering from hypothermia, she was hospitalized, but her condition is not considered life threatening.

A man, whose age is not known, was also rescued in the town of Ishimaki in Miyagi prefecture, an area badly hit by the quake where the tsunami swept away entire towns and villages. Emergency personnel reported that more than 2,000 bodies have been found in this section alone, mirroring this one rescue as not only singular but also miraculous.

The Japanese Red Cross and their 90 medical teams are doing their best to provide care for more than 430,000 citizens trapped in towns along the Japanese coast.

If you want to help Japan, contact:

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org.

4 Month Old Baby Rescued from Rubble in Japan

Amongst all of the horrible things that have been happening in Japan recently there have been a few heartwarming stories as well. Just today a Japanese search and rescue team miraculously rescued a young baby who had been trapped for 3 days. The child was reportedly found underneath rubble and debris but shows no signs of injury.

According to many the child was found by a soldier while he searched through a destroyed building. The child’s father was nearby as he had been searching for his baby since the building collapsed. According to the child’s family they lost her when the massive storm of water took her out of their hands.

Shortly after finding her soldiers turned the child over to her parents. Of course they were very grateful that the child was in fact found unharmed. Many believe this is exactly the type of news the people of Japan need to hear; with so many dead and such tragedy spreading all across the country many are happy to hear even the slightest sign of positive news.

Many in the area said it truly was a miracle that the baby had survived, especially given the horrible state of the building she was in. Despite massive odds against her survival the 4 month old somehow survived the horrible tragedy.