Travel alert to disaster-ravaged Japan issued by U.S. and other countries

U.S. issues Japan travel alert

A travel alert has been issued by the United States for its citizens to delay or cancel nonessential trips to Japan after the country was hit by a powerful magnitude 8.9 earthquake and a tsunami that engulfed entire towns.

The U.S. State Department is warning travelers about water and food shortages as well as power and transportation failures.

U.S. carriers and other foreign airlines have cancelled flights to Tokyo including those bound for Narita International Airport which has been temporarily closed by authorities. Tokyo's subway and train services have also been halted because of the quake, which struck 240 miles northwest of the Japanese capital.

"Public transportation, including trains and subways, are closed in the Tokyo area, and service has been interrupted in other areas," the travel alert said. "Many roads have been damaged in the Tokyo area and in northern Japan."

Strong aftershocks are still being felt in the region. Complicating the dire situation in the area is the condition of four nuclear power plants which have sustained damage from the quake.

Two nuclear plants around Fukushima, Japan have experienced partial meltdowns and prompted the evacuation of residents in a 20-mile radius. Two other plants are also being monitored. The U.S. travel alert also urges Americans within the danger zone to comply with the order to leave the area.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan had earlier described the multiple calamities that had hit his country as the "worst since World War II."

Due to the rising danger of radiation exposure, the governments of Germany and France also issued travel alerts.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Monday March 14 2011, 6:33 AM EST. Ref: Seattle Times. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0