Strenuous efforts for rescue, relief operations required for survivors
(From The Japan Times March 18 issue)

生存者救援･救助へのたゆまぬ努力

People who have taken shelter at evacuation facilities in northeastern Japan since the March 11 quake and tsunami are finding themselves living under harsh conditions. The central and local governments must make strenuous efforts to deliver aid and personnel to those places as soon as possible. The death of evacuees because of a delay in help must be avoided at any cost.

The number of people who died or are unaccounted for due to the magnitude-9 quake and subsequent tsunami topped 12,000 in 12 prefectures, most of them in the Tohoku region of Honshu, according to the National Police Agency. This is the first time since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that the number of quake, tsunami and fire victims has surpassed the 10,000 mark. In the 1923 disaster, more than 105,000 people died or went missing.

More than 80,000 members of the Self-Defense Forces, the police and firefighting brigades are engaged in rescue and relief operations. Some 26,500 people have thus far been saved.

The final death toll is certain to rise. And tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for. In addition, the discovery of a large number of bodies has been reported in various locations along the northeast coast. As the number of fatalities rises, local governments are having difficulty securing places to store bodies. The Miyagi Prefectural Government says that coffins are in short supply and that a power shortage is making it impossible to produce the dry ice that is needed to store bodies.

The physical damage caused by the quake and tsunami is beyond imagination. Lifelines have been ripped apart in many areas. Damaged roads are hampering the search and rescue operations being conducted by the SDF, the police and firefighters. Road conditions are also making it difficult to send aid to evacuation facilities.

At one point, some 550,000 people were housed at evacuation centers. As power supply is restored, some people have started returning home. Some 380,000 people remain in some 2,200 evacuation facilities, such as school buildings and community centers, in eight prefectures.

Evacuees lack adequate food, water, medicines, blankets, heating oil, etc. Cold weather is also adding to their misery. Volunteers are having difficulty in reaching evacuation facilities due to the disruption of transportation and the serious accidents at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s No. 1 Fukushima nuclear power plant. As a result, there are not enough trained personnel to manage the evacuation facilities.

The central and local governments must learn from the 1995 Kobe quake experience. Local government workers were so busy that they failed to address the needs of elderly evacuees. Several days after the quake, some elderly survivors developed pneumonia, stomach ulcers and other ailments due to stress and died. It is estimated that as many as 1,000 people perished of post-quake fatigue and stress caused by the traumatic disruption of their daily lives.

Evacuees from the March 11 disaster are undergoing similar hardships. At Ishinomaki Senshu University in Miyagi Prefecture, where some 700 evacuees are staying, there are insufficient blankets, forcing some people to sleep on cardboard while using newspapers as covering. Meals consist of bananas while juice is only provided in the morning and evening. There is no hot foot or drink. In a gymnasium in Sendai's Wakabayashi Ward, where some 200 evacuees are housed, only one oil heater is available and a shortage of heating oil means that it is turned off at night to save fuel.

The central and local governments, and the private sector should cooperate so that goods, medical workers and skilled volunteers can reach evacuation facilities safely and quickly. Evacuation centers are likely to operate for a long time to come. Every effort must be made to save evacuees' lives with sufficient care and medical treatment.

Local governments should consider housing severely weakened people, especially the elderly, in welfare facilities. Citizens in areas not affected by the quake and tsunami should not hoard food, gasoline and heating oil.

東北地方太平洋沖地震と津波の被災者は、避難所で厳しい状況にさらされている。政府と自治体は援助物資と人員をできるだけ早く送り込むことで避難者の死を防がねばならない。

最終的な死者数は跳ね上がるだろう。何万人もが行方不明のままだ。被災地の海外沿いで多数の遺体が発見され、自治体は安置所確保に苦慮している。

震災と津波による物的損害は想像を絶する。崩壊した道路が自衛隊や警察、消防署の捜索・救助活動を阻み、避難所への物資輸送も滞った。避難者が必要とする水や食料、医薬品、毛布、灯油が不足し、厳しい寒さが苦痛を増す。交通の乱れと福島第一原発の事故がボランティアを阻み、避難所を運営できる人材が足りていない。

政府と自治体は阪神淡路大震災の教訓をもとに、高齢の避難者のニーズを把握すべきだ。当時、被災のストレスから肺炎や胃潰瘍などにかかり死亡した高齢者がいた。およそ1000人が被災の疲労とストレスが原因で亡くなったとされる。今回の避難者も似た状況に直面している。宮城県石巻専修大学の体育館には700人ほどが避難、毛布がなくダンボールや新聞を使って寝ている。食事は主にバナナで、朝晩にジュースが配布されるが温かい物は皆無だ。

政府と自治体、民間企業は物資と医療関係者、有能なボランティアが早く安全に避難施設に到着できるよう協力すべきだ。避難所は今後長い間活動を続ける可能性が高く、十分なケアと医療で避難者の命を守らねばならない。自治体は、高齢者など体力が低下した人々を福祉施設で受け入れることを検討すべきだ。被災を免れた地域では、食料、ガソリン、灯油の買いだめを控えねばならない。