Emergency Response to Noto Peninsula Earthquake

Mami Mizutori, Managing Director of AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan), who served as a Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Head of UNDRR, visited the areas affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. In addition to hearing directly from people living in the affected areas more than a year after the earthquake, she paid a courtesy call on the Mayor of Nanao City and the Mayor of Shika Town in Ishikawa Prefecture, and also exchanged opinions with organizations that are working with AAR in support activities.

"Last September, we had heavy rain damage, and bad things have been happening," explained Mr. Yamafuji, a visually impaired person and a massage therapist, to Director Mizutori. Mr. Yamafuji used to work as a masseuse at a long-established inn in the Wakura hot spring resort area of Nanao City, but the inn was severely damaged by the earthquake and closed, and he lost his place of work.

He continues to work as a massage therapist at the request of guests of other inns operating in the hot spring resort area, and at the "Yawa Yawa Cafe", a salon that AAR holds to promote interaction in the temporary housing complex.

Director Mizutori interviewed Mr. Yamafuji about the situation when the earthquake occurred, how he evacuated, and his subsequent evacuation life. Ms. Mizutori informed the participants that AAR is focusing on providing support to people with disabilities who are difficult to reach and will continue to do so in the future.

We also visited the Mayor of Nanao City and the Mayor of Shika Town and exchanged opinions on the local government's reconstruction plan and the role of the government in disaster prevention. Director Mizutori told Mayor of Nanao that "If we can promote disaster prevention efforts that will make the so-called vulnerable groups, such as the persons with disabilities, foreigners, and the elderly, feel safe, it will be a safe environment for everyone," and the Mayor said that he would like to try to pick up the voices of those who have difficulty in showing up in the open.

Ms. Mizutori mentioned her experience of seeing the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami spread from Japan to the rest of the world when she served as a Head of UNDRR.

In addition, we also visited Yu no Oka, a welfare service center for the persons with disabilities that receives support from AAR, the Nanao International Association, which is working with AAR to support foreign disaster victims, and the Council of Social Welfare, which is collaborating with AAR to provide support at temporary housing complexes. We listened carefully to what they had to say from their respective standpoints and told them that we would take their requests and opinions and apply them to our future support.

AAR Executive Director Chiaki Furukawa and staff members of the domestic disaster team accompanied Director Mizutori on this inspection tour. We will continue to support the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake by taking into account the advice given by Ms. Mizutori, and we would like to ask for your continued support for AAR's relief efforts.

Links:

• AAR English website

Due to the cold wave that has been hitting Japan since early February, the areas affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake have also been hit by heavy snowfall. AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan) is providing support by distributing warm clothes and winter clothing to users and staff of welfare facilities for the people with disabilities and foreign survivors to help them overcome the harsh winter conditions.

Heavy snow has been falling in Ishikawa Prefecture since early February, with snowfall two to four times more than that of a normal year. In the downtown area of Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture, where AAR's Noto Office is located, snow has accumulated to the point where car tires are buried, with local residents saying that this is the heaviest snowfall in recent years. Many people were seen helping to push cars out of the streets as they became stuck one after another.

A man who had been receiving support from AAR since the earthquake said, "The snow on the roof is falling and squeezing the windows of my house. The windowpanes are likely to break." AAR has responded by helping with snow removal.

Since October 2024, AAR has been distributing winter clothes to help people affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake to overcome the severe winter. So far, AAR has distributed 221 pieces of winter clothing to 18 welfare facilities for the people with disabilities and employment support offices, 260 pieces to foreign survivors including technical intern trainees, 69 pieces to people living in evacuation centers, and 1,160 pieces to temporary housing residents in the city through the Nanao City Community Support Center.

AAR distributed sleeping bags and down jackets donated by be-s Co.,Ltd. and thermal underwear donated by UNIQLO CO.,LTD. through Japan Platform.

Ms. Tamura, the head of the welfare facility for people with disabilities, said, "These winter clothes are very warm. We used to have a hard time working outside, but these clothes help us. We are also grateful to receive sleeping bags that allows us to stretch out arms and legs. With these supplies we feel secured next time something happens."

A staff member at a facility that provides employment support to people with disabilities said, "After the earthquake, some people were evacuated here, but we were unable to provide them with sufficient bedding and warm clothes. We are grateful for the items provided this time because they can be used as emergency supplies and support evacuees."

In February, with the cooperation of the Noto Town Office, AAR made individual visits to foreign residents of the town to deliver thermal underwear. At that time, there were some foreign survivors who did not understand Japanese well and were having difficulty adjusting to the local community, and we also responded by connecting them to town office support and Japanese language classes in neighboring towns.

When distributing supplies, AAR also interviews the survivors about their living conditions and daily problems in order to provide necessary support and to prepare them for the next disaster. AAR is particularly attentive to the needs of foreign survivors, who often have difficulty in obtaining necessary information and receiving the support they are supposed to receive.

Although it is now March, the Noto area is still suffering from severe cold weather. AAR will continue its community-based support activities so that those affected by the earthquake can welcome spring with peace of mind. We would like to ask for your continued support for AAR's assistance to the survivors of the Noto earthquake.

Links:

• AAR English website