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I have been in communication with a friend that has relatives at IwaKuni Japan.members there have been working to help their neighbors from day one. I have no doubt that the local leaders have the building setup as shelters the same as they did in Haiti. The problem in Haiti was that the government would not let the planes come in.

The local leadership are in the best position to know what to ask for.

I have been on ships that provided relief and saw over half of the items wasted because the local people did not know how to prepare the food. It makes no sense to send plane load of stuff that goes to waste.In Sri Lanka we dropped food only to go to Singapore and get rice because that is what the local people understand. the food that was dropped a week earlier was roting because the people didn't what to do with it.

The local leadership are in the best position to know what to ask for.

Of course, this involves many assumptions on your part:
It assumes that the "local leadership" in many areas are in a position to update their communications. Cellphones batteries do run out in a climate where millions are without access to electricity. Often, cellphone battery usage is dwindled in the early days after a crisis finding out just the most basic info about what happened & calling loved ones to check on their status.

While many still have vehicles, the tsunami wiped out many of the roads or left them so cluttered that access by road is impossible. So mobility is an issue to get to locations where other types of communications can be utilized.

Even neighbors helping neighbors has been hindered in regions where radiation has led to people being told to stay indoors 24/7.