Japan aid needs are ‘immense’ – top UN official

Quake-hit Japan’s disaster relief needs are “immense”, especially with the threat of radiation, a top UN official said yesterday, expressing confidence that Tokyo could meet its aid requirements.

“The needs are immense. They are huge,” Amir Mahmoud Abdulla, the UN food programme’s deputy executive director, told reporters.

Rome-based Amir was in Malaysia to witness the construction of the UN’s humanitarian response depot in Subang, west of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

The depot, located inside the Royal Malaysian Air Force base, will be ready in December.

The Malaysian hub is the agency’s first humanitarian response depot in Asia and fifth in the world. It will stock generators, tents and high-energy biscuits which can be delivered quickly to disaster areas in the region.

Amir said everyone recognised that the relief needs are primarily being met by the Japanese government and local charities.

“However, the devastation that happened this time and the impact on the nation’s own infrastructure meant that immediate (relief) response became difficult,” he said.

Workers have so far failed to contain radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear power plant which was crippled by the quake and tsunami that hit northeast Japan on March 11.

The leaks have contaminated farm produce and drinking water and prompted several countries to ban food imports from the area.

Mr Amir said 50 tons of high energy biscuits have been deployed to Japan along with tents worth $1.2 million from the UN warehouse in Malaysia.

The UN food agency has similar depots in Italy, United Arab Emiates, Panama and Ghana.