Return to normal life still far off for Japan rain victims

TOKYO — With Friday marking a week since the announcement of special rain warnings, those affected by the heavy rains increasingly worry about rebuilding their lives. Many wonder when their lives will return to normal.

A large number of people affected by the record rainfall in western Japan remain without running water, resulting in long lines at water supply stations. While many have taken refuge at evacuation centers, others are “home evacuees” who can reside in their homes, yet still require help.

Long queues

“Since the water supply station opened, I’ve come here every morning to get water for my family of four. I only have plastic bottles to fill up, and we’re desperately short of water,” Kenji Watanabe, 65, said wearily.

He lined up at a water supply station in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, for about two hours together with his daughter on Thursday. He also visits an elementary school near his home to collect water from a swimming pool that has been made available to local residents, which he uses for domestic use.

The city of Kure was temporarily isolated due to conditions including impassable local roads, and about 90,000 households, or 80 percent of all households in the city, were left without running water.

The city did not suffer widespread flooding, and most of the city’s residents have remained in their homes. However, delivery of relief supplies and other goods to such home evacuees is said to be difficult.

For that reason, the Self-Defense Forces and other entities supply residents with water from 50 locations in the city.
Residents are forced to wait in long lines from early in the morning every day. They save water by drinking as little as possible or bathing in washbasins. However, due to the severely hot weather over the past few days, some have been hospitalized for dehydration.

Sanitary conditions

There are also concern over deteriorating sanitary conditions. Medical institutions have washed their medical tools as little as possible to conserve the water in their storage tanks. At facilities for elderly people, disposable towels are used to clean residents’ bodies. Officials at these facilities have voiced concern over infectious diseases and sanitary conditions.

In light of these circumstances, public bath houses have offered free baths and the Maritime Self-Defense Force allows affected people to use bath facilities on its escort ship Kaga.

According to the Kure city government, the water outage is expected to be resolved in a few days. However, a 32-year-old homemaker who has a 1-year-old son said: “I need clean water for baby formula, baths and laundry, so I want the water supply to be restored as soon as possible. I can’t take this any more.”

In Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, where about 6,500 households were left without running water as of Thursday, some residents drink well water used for agricultural and other purposes, prompting the city’s public health center to begin water quality tests free of charge.

Separate evacuation

“It’s difficult to rebuild my house,” lamented a 40-year-old woman currently staying at an evacuation center in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture.

The first floor of her house in the Mabicho district of Kurashiki, which was hit with widespread flooding, was submerged, and a large amount of debris wound up inside. She and her husband are staying at an evacuation center, while their 11-year-old daughter was evacuated to a relative’s home outside the city.

They have no timeline for clearing out their house and are considering looking for another place where their whole family can live together.

According to the Kurashiki city government, a total of about 2,600 people were housed at evacuation centers in the city as of Thursday. The Mabicho district has little land where temporary homes can be built, and the municipal government is considering moving evacuees to empty rooms in apartments run by the city and other places.

In Saka, Hiroshima Prefecture, where more than 10 people died or went missing due to mudslides, about 480 people remained at evacuation centers as of Thursday.

A 73-year-old woman said rocks, earth and sand poured into the first floor of her house. “I’ll have to demolish the house and clear the land. I can’t think about the future,” she said.

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