YEREVAN. - The Government of Armenia will allocate $ 500,000 to earthquake relief effort in Japan. The decision was made at a governmental session on Thursday.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, on March 11, the largest earthquake (9 magnitude) in the recent years hit the northeast of Japan, triggering a 10-meter tsunami and followed by several powerful aftershocks. The epicenter is located 373 to north-east from Japan’s capital, Tokyo at the depth of 24 kilometers. According to latest data, the death toll reached 12,600.

A massive earthquake damaged cooling functions of the Fukushima nuclear plant, making the operator to pour seawater into reactors and let out radioactive air into atmosphere. Traces of radiation were found in milk and spinach in farms near Ibaraki prefecture.