Long recovery after rains
Storm-hit area of Japan deals with heat, shortages
Residents of the prefectures of Hiroshima and Okayama in Japan face various hurdles to rebuilding their lives after the devastation wrought by heavy rains, including scorching heat, shortages of necessary goods and disrupted water supplies.
Many will likely have to stay in evacuation centres for a prolonged period.
The rainy season has ended in the areas affected by the record rainfall that battered western Japan, killing at least 176 people. Tens of thousands of rescue and recovery workers and volunteers are digging through the debris, as the search for dozens still missing continues.
In Kurashiki, work began to install air conditioners at six shelters in the town of Mabi and in the Mizushima district where many evacuees are staying.
At No. 2 Fukuda Elementary School in the Mizushima district, 12 air conditioners were installed at the school’s gymnasium, where about 230 people had taken refuge. The heat has made them sweat as they sleep.
“I can’t stop sweating because it’s hot during the day,” said a 72-yearold woman who lives nearby but had been sheltering at the school with her husband for four days. “If we continue living in an unfamiliar environment as evacuees, we can’t help but get exhausted. So I’m grateful for the air conditioners.”
A 75-year-old man who had also Damaged houses and a mud-covered road are seen in the aftermath of heavy rains in Hiroshima.
taken shelter at the school said: “I want to check on my flooded house, but I can’t because it’s far away from the evacuation centre.”
In Mabi, 27 per cent of the district was flooded, and authorities have been unable to secure enough facilities for evacuees. Local residents were ferried to schools and elsewhere about 5 to 10km from the town by bus.
It currently takes more than an hour by car to reach the town from the shelters. The man said he has no
means of transportation, as his car was submerged.
A city government official said, “We want to consolidate the evacuees in the town as soon as possible, but we’re not ready yet.”
A 40-year-old woman in Saka said it’s hard to get baby food for her 1-year-old daughter. She evacuated to a shelter in the town with her husband and their 3-year-old son.
A 54-year-old nurse who has been visiting evacuation centres in Kumano said: “Pharmaceutical products,
such as antiseptic solution, are running short [at evacuation centres]. Some evacuees have suffered abrasions but left them untreated. There are fears of infection.”
A serious water shortage has continued in Kure, where more than 80 per cent of households have been hit by cuts in supply. The city government set up water stations at 40 locations, but the water was not sufficient, prompting it to establish more.