Relief Assistance for Tohoku Earthquake Affected

By this September 11^th, four and a half years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, as it makes us realize how quickly time flies.

Ishinomaki, though worst affected by the earthquake, is now recovering. The renovation works on schools in the city have finished, and so children have moved from awkward makeshift classrooms to their renewed schools, returning to their normal school lives. The city’s key industry, fishery, has recovered to the extent that its fish haul reached as high as 80 percent of the pre-quake level. To support the industry Ishinomaki fish market was reconstructed and now the renewal into the world-class market. With the construction of coast infrastructure and housing for affected people proceeding at a fast pace, many supporting organizations are seen to take initiative to boost local development.

While efforts to construct 4,500 public housing units for affected people by 2017 are now underway in Ishinomaki, there are still 133 cramped temporary quarters where as of August 1st, 4,988 households are suffering from many inconveniences. Temporary quarters are becoming empty every day, as people continue moving to the public housing units to settle in new neighbourhoods. The difference between neighbourhoods that are ready to brace these people and ones that are not is becoming visible, which is presenting a new challenge.

It is said that the local government has no plan to integrate temporary quarters within this year, but the people fear that necessity impels it to hasten the plan.

You can see Ishinomaki continues developing day by day, but people living in the disaster stricken areas feel like “we have a long way to go to return to normal.” JEN will continue supporting those of the locals until they can live with peace of mind.

Next Support Activities to Move onto

Since setting up its liaison office in Ishinomaki, JEN has been making continued efforts to support recovering local communities, and has decided to close the office at the end of this October because the needs for on-site activities have changed. From November onwards,, our continued support to the communities will be delivered through recovery assistance organizations based in the disaster hit areas those of which are: Iwate Prefecture; Miyagi Prefecture, and Fukushima Prefecture in order to encourage local’s power to live.

Record-breaking rainfall in September breached levees in inland areas of Miyagi Prefecture, causing immense damages on the areas. Responding to calls by an organization working in the Oshika Peninsula after the earthquake, locals in Ishinomaki voluntarily joined clearing houses of sludge in the flood-ravaged areas.

These days, we can expect disasters caused by torrential rains, volcano eruptions, and landslides anywhere at any time. It is vital for us to do something to help disaster evacuees in corporation with others in times of emergency. What is heartening to us is that there are willing helpers among people who have experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake, as we saw in the recent flooding where people in Ishinomaki took a prompt action in corporation with organizations.

The city of Ishinomaki was heavily damaged by the earthquake, but thanks to the support from all over the world. The city’s key industry has achieved to be reconstructed and the communities are gradually recovering, and also new innovative movements are found to be created.