April 21, 2011
Editorial (excerpts)
Precious lives, which survived the major earthquake and tsunami, are being lost at temporary shelters as “secondary victims.”
“Quake-related deaths” are people who die after the earthquake and tsunami due to worsening in their chronic diseases or due to some kind of psychological or physical disorders. Data regarding such deaths from the Great East Japan Disaster have not yet been compiled. However, medics suspect that such deaths have already reached the level of several hundred. In the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, more than 900 people fell victim to quake-related deaths. This time, the number will become far greater.
It is mainly because hundreds of thousands of people are still taking shelter even more than a month after the quake. The supply of kerosene for heating, food, and clothes to withstand the severe cold and other harsh natural conditions has been limited.
The government has begun to survey the conditions at temporary shelters. As of early April, information was made available from only 30 % of 1,047 shelters set up by municipalities in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. Of the responding shelters, only 70% said that water and gas services are restored and only 60% said they can provide hot meals daily. Unavailability of clean underwear, privacy, or a bath since the quake is far from what can be described as decent living conditions.
The government should take better care not only of those being evacuated to facilities provided by local municipalities but also of those staying in their damaged homes or personally taking shelter in the neighborhood and guarantee them hot meals and safe sleep conditions.
Past disasters have shown that the endurable limit is two months for victims to live in groups in emergency shelters in school gymnasiums or similar facilities. The two-month limit is near at hand. The need is to build provisional dwellings at public expense to enable all victim families to secure privacy and restore their livelihoods. However, this step is definitely being delayed.
The government is responsible to secure land and materials for building temporary housing. In case the construction is too late in coming, the government should step in to get hotels and inns to take in victims for the time being. The government must also speed up the process of acknowledging such disaster-related deaths.
Precious lives, which survived the major earthquake and tsunami, are being lost at temporary shelters as “secondary victims.”
“Quake-related deaths” are people who die after the earthquake and tsunami due to worsening in their chronic diseases or due to some kind of psychological or physical disorders. Data regarding such deaths from the Great East Japan Disaster have not yet been compiled. However, medics suspect that such deaths have already reached the level of several hundred. In the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, more than 900 people fell victim to quake-related deaths. This time, the number will become far greater.
It is mainly because hundreds of thousands of people are still taking shelter even more than a month after the quake. The supply of kerosene for heating, food, and clothes to withstand the severe cold and other harsh natural conditions has been limited.
The government has begun to survey the conditions at temporary shelters. As of early April, information was made available from only 30 % of 1,047 shelters set up by municipalities in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. Of the responding shelters, only 70% said that water and gas services are restored and only 60% said they can provide hot meals daily. Unavailability of clean underwear, privacy, or a bath since the quake is far from what can be described as decent living conditions.
The government should take better care not only of those being evacuated to facilities provided by local municipalities but also of those staying in their damaged homes or personally taking shelter in the neighborhood and guarantee them hot meals and safe sleep conditions.
Past disasters have shown that the endurable limit is two months for victims to live in groups in emergency shelters in school gymnasiums or similar facilities. The two-month limit is near at hand. The need is to build provisional dwellings at public expense to enable all victim families to secure privacy and restore their livelihoods. However, this step is definitely being delayed.
The government is responsible to secure land and materials for building temporary housing. In case the construction is too late in coming, the government should step in to get hotels and inns to take in victims for the time being. The government must also speed up the process of acknowledging such disaster-related deaths.
