It has been almost a month since the unprecedented 8.9 magnitude earthquake and consequent tsunami rocked Eastern-Japan on March 11th, leaving the world in shock.

Since then, there has been little relief for Japan as aftershocks coupled with fears of a nuclear disaster loomed heavily over the country. The official number of people confirmed dead or listed as missing in Japan has just today neared 20,000 and the figure is expected to increase.

But with rescue and relief efforts underway there are also stories of hope. Just today a leak of highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima nuclear plant has been stopped. This will provide a moment of relief for those who have been holding their breath in anticipation of a widespread nuclear disaster.

With thousands missing and dead, search and rescue operations have also provided a brief moment of overwhelming joy for animal lovers across the world. On April 1st Japan’s coastguard rescued a dog that was spotted floating almost two kilometres off the coast of Kesennuma on the remains of a rooftop.

The dog, named Ban, was then reunited with his owner who recognized him after watching a news feature on the rescue. This sequence of events can only be described as an extremely joyful yet unlikely coincidence which provides some much needed light at the end of the tunnel for those still in despair.

To provide some more light at the end of the tunnel for all those suffering from the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, give out a helping hand.

You can do this by donating to The Salvation Army, The Red Cross, or even download one of Hurricane Healing compilation albums, where a large percentage goes straight to The Salvation Army to help those in Japan.

To download the most recent album, click here. Or browse through iTunes for all of Hurricane Healing’s older compilation albums.