Kumamoto Returns Favor by Helping Downpour-Hit Areas

July 23, 2018

Kumamoto/Hiroshima- Local government officials in Kumamoto Prefecture are supporting disaster relief activities in downpour-hit western prefectures to return the favor they received following the 2016 powerful earthquakes in the southwestern region.

The Kumamoto prefectural and nine other local governments have sent more than 160 personnel in total to help out in affected areas in Hiroshima Prefecture and elsewhere, capitalizing on their experience from the 2016 disaster.

From Kumamoto Prefecture, a total of seven officials with experience in disaster-related operations were dispatched from July 14 to Hiroshima and the neighboring Okayama Prefecture, both hit by deadly landslides and floods due to the torrential rain early this month.

The Kumamoto team presented to the Hiroshima and Okayama prefectural disaster response headquarters a table showing when shelters for evacuees were opened and certifications for afflicted residents were issued in Kumamoto after the 2016 temblors.

The table was used to explain further operations that are expected to be necessary, according to Takuya Kurose, 47, leader of the seven-member team.

Kumamoto officials also advised cooperating with nonprofit organizations with know-how, in controlling humidity and securing privacy at shelters.

They also provided a list of questions and answers regarding certifications and support funds for disaster victims that was created in 2016 following inquiries from quake-hit Kumamoto municipalities.

"We hope to make use of our experience to return the favor we received following the earthquakes," said Kurose, head of the Kumamoto prefectural government's disaster prevention planning office.

The Kumamoto town of Ozu sent the Hiroshima town of Kaita six personnel, including Hisaki Shido, 35.

Shido has a bitter memory of facing an increase in work after focusing too much on a flood of duties at hand, such as dealing with inquiries from citizens, just after the quakes.

He advised Kaita officials, busy with shelter management and traffic control, to ensure waste is sorted properly because disposal costs will swell otherwise.

"Appropriate response right after a disaster will make it easier to start operations to help evacuees smoothly afterward," Shido said.

The city of Kumamoto also sent officials to affected areas such as the Hiroshima city of Kure and the Okayama city of Kurashiki from July 8.

To Kure, 16 personnel and three water trucks were dispatched.

At the time of the quakes, many evacuees brought plastic bottles to get water from such vehicles, but the taps were too big. Given the experience, the Kumamoto city attached smaller taps to make it easier to fill plastic bottles.

The water supply operations were "smooth thanks to our experience from the quakes," said Yasuhiko Mimura, 56, who led the city's water supply team.

One day, he found a letter under a windshield wiper of a water truck, saying, "I am shedding tears of gratitude. From a Kure citizen."

"It blew away my fatigue," said Mimura, who brought the letter back home with delight. Jiji Press