Kumamoto Struggling to Deliver Aid to Home Evacuees

Uki, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 18 (Jiji Press)–Local governments in Kumamoto Prefecture are struggling to deliver aid to those sheltering at their own or relatives’ homes after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture last month. While evacuees at designated shelters can be easily identified, it is difficult to grasp the exact numbers of people staying outside such facilities or their living conditions. How to deliver relief supplies, health consultation services and other support adequately to such people is a big problem more than three weeks after the July 28 temblor. As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, 3,050 people were staying at designated evacuation facilities in Kumamoto, according to the prefecture. A considerable number of evacuees are believed to be staying at their own or relatives’ homes or in vehicles, but the exact numbers or their current situations remain unclear. In the city of Uki, where a seismic intensity of 7, the highest level on Japan’s scale, was registered, the house of a 94-year-old woman was severely damaged and judged unsafe to enter in a postquake emergency risk assessment. Along with her first son, the woman is living in a vacant house in the neighborhood owned by a relative. But no hot water is available in the house, and water leaks from under the kitchen sink. The woman has weak legs and poor hearing. Even with a hearing aid, she needs others to speak loudly for her to hear. Therefore, living at an evacuation shelter, about 200 meters away from the house, is considered difficult for her. “It’s a tough choice to go to the evacuation center in the current situation,” said the woman’s 70-year-old daughter, who lives nearby. Kazuo Fukuoka, 76, who lives with his wife in Uki, cares for his three cats and cleans up his house during the daytime and spends the night at an evacuation center. At his one-story wooden house, built more than 70 years ago, the toilet and the bath were broken. Household goods are scattered inside, making it difficult to walk without shoes. Shortly after the quake, he slept in the house or a vehicle parked on the premises. He began staying at a shelter only at night about two weeks after the quake, as advised by neighbors. “I have animals. There are places I can’t go with them,” Fukuoka said. He intends to continue his current way for the time being. In order to support disaster-affected people requiring special care, such as elderly residents and people with disabilities, the prefectural government has dispatched a Disaster Welfare Assistance Team, made up of social care professionals, for those staying at home or other nondesignated locations. A total of about 750 team members had been deployed as of Sunday. They took part in work to ask home and other evacuees about their living conditions, distribute relief supplies and guide them to welfare evacuation centers for those who need special care. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]