By Matters India Reporter
Tokyo -– Caritas Japan, the social development of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Japan, has been urging people to volunteer more people to work for relief and rehabilitation programme in the aftermath of massive floods and heat wave scenario in Western Japan, the torrential downpour two weeks ago.
“After the weeks, the volunteer centers of Shakyo (social welfare council) have been opened in many municipalities. The affected dioceses of Hiroshima and Takamatsu are encouraging people to join the volunteer work. The volunteer work needed now is mainly mud and debris removal, which is quite hard for both rescue workers and the volunteers in this unusual temperature these days,” Aine Ono, an official of Caritas Japan, told Matters India.
Disaster-struck areas in west Japan are bracing for a prolonged heat wave just as survivors begin the painstaking task of cleaning up after torrential rainfall triggered landslides and floods, killing 222 people earlier this month (July). Over the long weekend, sweltering heat was the biggest challenge for rescue and recovery efforts as temperatures topped 39 degrees Celsius in landlocked areas. In the worst-flood hit districts of Okayama, Hiroshima, and Ehime Prefectures, the mercury clocked highs of 36 degrees C. By Monday, the death toll stood at 14 with another 2,061 people treated in hospitals for heatstroke and heat exhaustion.
Caritas Japan has contacted the affected diocese of Hiroshima and they have reported that information is being collected from each parish. Diocesan staff is joining coordination meetings with local actors organized by the Okayama prefecture.
The Hiroshima diocese has set up a volunteer base to receive volunteers to help clean up the houses. Caritas Japan will start fundraising in the country this week to support the activities led by the diocese, said Ono.
With regard to Catholic church’s response, in Hiroshima Diocese (Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures), the diocese’s support center held the second meeting on July 13. They shared the information on the situation of the worst hit Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures.
They divided the working area into three – Hiroshima/Kure, Onomichi/Fukuyama and Kayama/Kurashiki and will start the assessment.
In Takamatsu Diocese (Ehime Prefecture), the diocese encourages the parishioners particularly youth to join the volunteer work through Shakyo. Parishes in Ehime will take lead in implementing activities with support by the diocese.
“Basically, we support the activities by the affected dioceses and they are now in discussion and preparation on how to implement the support activities,” Ono said.
The Ministry of Health estimates 103,400 households in west Japan are without running water and are struggling to stay cool in dangerous weather conditions persistent through the night. Government agencies are urging affected residents with broken air conditioners to move to locations with air conditioning, even advising past evacuees to return to evacuation centers with cooling. According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, 4,500 people remain in evacuation centers across 16 prefectures but access to water remains limited within those centers.
Ongoing search and rescue operations are underway, with the help of 81 helicopters and 26,000 police, fire department, and Self-Defense Force crews on the ground. In Ehime and Okayama Prefectures alone, 3,600 volunteers worked on day one of a three day weekend to clear sand, mud, and debris in punishingly high temperatures. In Hiroshima, a road closure to the airport was lifted, enabling airport shuttle buses to resume operations.
In areas where water remains cut off, municipal governments are warning of fire risks from submerged cars and solar panels that could cause fires if started abruptly. Local firefighters say such scenarios would be especially deadly without access to functioning fire hydrants.
Machinery and agricultural damage so far is being calculated at 48 billion yen ($429 million), but with the government still investigating the damage, costs are expected to rise.