Countries rally round to help with money and relief work

The United Nations was co- ordinating the offers, which came from the world’s economic giants, led by the United States, which had an aircraft carrier off the northeastern coast.

American and Japanese helicopters were beginning to airlift 30,000 portions of emergency food supplies.

In addition, the US Embassy in Tokyo provided $100,000 (£62,000) in immediate relief funding.

An offer of help even came from the poor southern Afghan city of Kandahar, which announced it was donating $50,000 (£31,000) to the “brothers and sisters” of Japan. The city’s mayor, Ghulam Haidar Hamidi, said: “I know $50,000 is not a lot of money for a country like Japan, but it is a show of appreciation from the Kandahar people.”

Japan has pledged $5bn in aid to Afghanistan over the next five years, more than one-third of the total $13bn in foreign aid pledged to the country over the next five years.

Taiwan donated $3.3m, along with generators, clothing and food. Australia’s government offered self-contained field hospitals and disaster victim identification teams, with two military transport aircraft carrying search and rescue teams, as well as sniffer dogs.

The Indian government will today send planeloads of woollen blankets to affected areas to help to counter cold weather conditions, said its Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who held discussions with the Japanese ambassador to New Delhi. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier offered to “help Japan in any way required.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said he would extend all possible assistance to Japan.“I have written a letter and we have offered them, if they need them, field hospitals, whatever assistance we can extend,” he said.

Nearly a dozen countries have sent rescue workers following Japan’s request, including teams from Australia, China, and the US, according to the UN. Seventeen more rescue teams including one from Israel were on standby. A team of 100 specialist rescue workers from France is due to arrive today.

New Zealand, which suffered its own earthquake devastation last month, also sent a team to help – who were joined by 66 Japanese specialists who had been assisting with the recovery operation in Christchurch.

In the US, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said a second carrier would be sent to assist airlifts, along with a 150-strong search and rescue team.

The Chinese government sent a 15-member team to assist in the search for survivors on Sunday, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The team brought with them four tons of equipment and material for the search as well to provide power and telecommunications to areas that have temporarily lost those services because of the quake.

Two experts from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission were also on their way to Japan last night.