A MONTH on from a huge earthquake that struck Japan’s west coast, survivors are battling freezing and unsanitary conditions while tens of thousands of homes remain without running water.Some areas in the isolated Noto peninsula may not have water restored for another two months, the government of Ishikawa prefecture said.
Such conditions add to risks to the health of those living in cramped evacuation centres where authorities say respiratory infections and gastroenteritis have been detected.
“There’s no water, so we can’t wash our clothes or bathe,” said Yoshio Binsaki, a 68-year-old resident of the battered coastal town of Suzu, as he prepared to haul a 20 litre water tank to his car to take home.
More than 230 people died in the magnitude 7.6 quake, Japan’s deadliest in eight years, which also left 44,000 homes fully or partially destroyed while 40,000 have no running water.
More than 13,000 residents are living in evacuation centres, according to the Ishikawa government.
Chisa Terashita, a mother of three who evacuated from her wrecked home in Suzu, said that immediately after the quake, she and her husband drank as little water as possible to conserve what they had.
They still face tough decisions on how to ration water to keep the family healthy.
“The one non-negotiable I have is washing and sanitising our hands after going to the toilet, given it’s the season when infections can spread quickly,” she added.
Bitter cold is also posing a challenge, especially for scores of residents who are sleeping in their cars after their homes were wrecked.
The area was hit by heavy snow over the past week.
Authorities have warned of a risk of landslides.
Over 900 deaths from the devastating Kobe earthquake of 1995 happened after the quake.
This is in part due to the spread of flu and lack of medical care at evacuation centres, according to public health experts.
Around mid-afternoon on Tuesday at a primary school in Suzu, where around 4,800 houses still have no water, children played on the swings.
Meanwhile, locals gathered around a communal water tank that has become a lifeline for many.
Authorities in Ishikawa prefecture are set to begin vaccinating evacuees for influenza today. — Reuters
