Kumamoto Earthquake Updates & Donation Info

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) is providing regular updates on the situation in Kyushu following the large April 14 and April 16 earthquakes and ongoing aftershocks in the region.

The JNTO's Kumamoto earthquake page includes up-to-date information on the status of Kumamoto airport, the Kyushu Shinkansen (bullet train) and local train lines, as well as expressway closures due to landslides, road damage and bridge failures. You can also find information on the opening status of Kumamoto Castle (above), which was damaged in the quakes. Check the latest updates here.

Safety Tips App

The JNTO also recommends downloading Safety Tips, a push-enabled information alert app for foreign tourists. It gives alerts for earthquake warnings, tsunami warnings and other weather warnings in English, Japanese, Hangul and traditional and simplified Chinese. The app also includes emergency information flowcharts and useful web links. You can download it for iPhone here and Android here.

News

For more information on the overall situation, check out Yahoo News, which has collected a number of useful links in English here.

Donations

If you're interested in donating money to relief efforts, you can find information on how to do so here. You can also offer support to students at Kumamoto University who lost housing here.