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Japan: FCO advise against all travel

14th March 2011 Taken from the FCO website:

We advise against all non essential travel to Tokyo and north eastern Japan given the damage caused by the 11 March earthquakes and resulting aftershocks and tsunamis.

The Japanese Meteorological Association announced on 13 March that there is a 70% chance of a magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquake in the same region as the 9.0 quake within the next 3 days. This may trigger another tsunami and aftershocks of more than magnitude 6.0. The Japanese authorities have issued a warning to stay away from low-lying coastal areas.

We urge all British nationals in areas affected by the earthquake to: check your immediate surroundings for fire, gas leaks, broken glass and other hazards; and open doors and/or windows to avoid being locked in if there are aftershocks.

We are actively monitoring the situation at nuclear facilities and urge British nationals to observe the advice being given by Japanese authorities, including the 20km exclusion zone around the Fukushima facility. This is consistent with the severity of the reported incident, with the independent information that we have, and with international practice. We are keeping our advice under constant review, taking into account statements from the Japanese authorities and informed by independent UK scientific and health experts.

British nationals in Japan should contact the Foreign Office helpline in London both if they require assistance and to report that they are safe: +44 20 7008 0000 (from Japan) or 020 7008 0000 (in the UK). You can also e-mail the Foreign Office on japan.earthquake@fco.gov.uk or skype (text not call) on "fcojapan". British nationals currently in Japan should also contact family and friends in the UK to confirm their well-being at the earliest opportunity. Where telephone services are not available, it may be possible to contact people using email or social media such as Twitter or Facebook.

Please also monitor local TV and radio for evacuation information. Radio stations in the Tokyo area that have emergency information in English include the US Armed Forces station at 810Am and InterFM (76.1FM).

Travellers should be aware that Japan's transport systems are experiencing severe disruption. We understand that:
- Japan Rail trains from Tokyo station are not operating or are subject to severe delays.

- Narita Express services are not running. The Tokyo metro is operating a reduced service.

- The Bullet trains and the Tokyo monorail remain in full service.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) plan to rotate power cuts in five groups which could affect roughly three million people in Tochigi, Gunma, Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures. Tokyo is also affected, except for the twenty three wards that make up the central part of Tokyo. There will be no power cut until 15 March at the earliest.

We understand that mobile and landline telephone reception in the affected areas is intermittent.

Further information on the earthquake and subsequent tsunami can be obtained from the US Geological Survey : http://www.usgs.gov/ and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre: http://ptwc.weather.gov/. The nature of the disaster means that the threat of a tsunami is regularly changing across the region. The FCO are endeavouring to provide information which is as up to date as possible but people in the region are urged to check the regular threat update on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Website www.NOAA.gov and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre http://ptwc.weather.gov/

The British Embassy is focused on assisting British nationals in the affected area in north east Japan. British nationals wishing to leave Japan should contact their airline operator to check for details of flight times. Further general advice can be found on the British Embassy website.

Please see the FCO website for the latest updates.

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