Volunteers Gather in Flood-Hit Western Japan; Deaths Top 200

July 15, 2018

Uwajima, Ehime Pref.- A number of people flocked to western Japan regions ravaged by recent torrential rain on Saturday, the first day of a three-day weekend in the country, to volunteer to help affected people cope with the disaster damage.

As of 9:30 p.m. Saturday (12:30 p.m. GMT), a total of 205 people were confirmed dead in the rain disaster, and 26 others were missing, according to a Jiji Press survey. Self-Defense Forces troops and others are continuing their search and rescue operations.

A scorching heat wave is expected to hit the country, including the disaster-affected areas, during the weekend. The Japan Meteorological Agency is calling for precaution against heatstroke, particularly in the disaster areas.

Meanwhile, work to restore infrastructure in disaster areas is gradually progressing. The Sanyo Expressway, which runs through the prefectures of Okayama and Hiroshima, both hit hard by the disaster, was fully back to traffic on Saturday for the first time in nine days, with the section between the Hiroshima Interchange and the Kochi Interchange reopened for use by ordinary vehicles on the day.

According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, up to some 260,000 households had seen water supplies disrupted due to the disaster. But as of noon Saturday (3 a.m. GMT), the number of such households decreased to 193,000 on the back of progress in restoration work in the Hiroshima cities of Kure and Etajima.

In Kure, the number of households without water supplies stood still high at 68,000 as of noon, but the problem is expected to be sorted out at many of the affected households by Thursday, officials said.

According to Chugoku Electric Power Co. power outage in its service areas, including Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures, was fully resolved on Friday.

By prefecture, the number of deaths as of 9:30 p.m. Saturday stood at 96 in Hiroshima, 60 in Okayama and 26 in Ehime. Of the missing people, 20 were in Hiroshima, three in Okayama and two in Ehime.

According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, 5,986 people were at shelters in 16 prefectures as of noon Saturday.

In the Mabi district in the Okayama city of Kurashiki, which was heavily damaged by flooding, the number of missing people fell to zero as of 8 p.m. Saturday, after the prefectural government disclosed the names of those unaccounted for and sought information about their whereabouts.

Many affected municipalities officially started to accept volunteers on Saturday.

The social welfare council of the city of Uwajima in Ehime expects to attract some 400 volunteers on the day.

"I decided to participate in the volunteer work after learning that there is nothing to eat or drink at the damaged house of a friend of mine," Ayaka Miyamoto, 16, a high school second-grader, said. "I'd like to do what I can without causing inconvenience to others," she said.

In the Yoshida district in the city, where the rain damage was heavy, volunteers worked to help locals remove mud and transport furniture.

In Hiroshima Prefecture, 17 municipalities have set up offices for accepting volunteers in cooperation with local social welfare councils. At an office launched in Aki Ward in the city of Hiroshima, a lot of people, including corporate workers, offered to volunteer.

The city of Kurashiki, which had allowed only residents there to engage in volunteer work, began to accept such supporters from outside the city on Saturday. They are expected to engage in restoration activities mainly in the flood-hit Mabi district.

According to the meteorological agency, the day's temperatures rose to as high as 34.9 degrees Celsius in Kurashiki, 34.8 degrees in Asakita Ward in the city of Hiroshima and 36.2 degrees in the city of Ozu in Ehime. Jiji Press