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Miyagi Support Center News "Link (Yui)" No. 30, July 20, 2011

Let's support our fellows in Tohoku with our bonds of friendship and strengths.

Issued by the Miyagi Support Center and the Miyagi Northern Area Support Center of the Japan Disability Forum (JDF) Headquarters for the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities

Miyagi Support Center
Office: c/o Hagi-no-sato Fukushi-kojo, Taihaku-Ku, Sendai City (New address)
Phone: +81-80-4373-6077
Fax: +81-22-244-6965

Miyagi Northern Area Support Center
Office: c/o Wakaba-en, Touwa-Machi, Tome City
Phone: +81-90-8349-9403
Fax: +81-220-45-2223

URL: http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/resource/tohoku_earthquake.html


The number of the persons with disabilities suffering from the disaster has not become clear: 130 days passed since the disaster.

The patience with intense heat for living at the shelters

130 days have passed since the March 11 disaster.
In Miyagi prefecture, the death toll from the disaster stood at 9,322 as of July 18, with 2,569 others unaccounted. The total number, 11,891, is bigger in human damages than other prefectures.

Moreover, 15,871 people in the prefecture are still living in shelters (gymnasiums, public halls, etc.) in intense heat of the day after day. The relocation of the people living in shelters to temporary houses is progressing. However, it is the inevitable situation that some of the people will have to remain in the shelters beyond this summer.

In comparison to other Great Earthquakes in the past, the first place in the breakdown of the cause of death was; the fire (87 %) at Kanto Great Earthquake, the collapsed buildings (83 %) in Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake and the drowning (92 %) in this East Japan Great Earthquake. That is why there are still so many corpses which are not ready to carry out their identifications (See the graph showing the situation as of April 11).
Under this enormous damage situation at large, the actual situation of the persons with disabilities suffering from the disaster has not yet become clear. Even the situation of the survivors with disabilities has not been clarified.

What is the actual situation of the sufferings of the persons with disabilities?

Before the disaster, 103,000 persons with disabilities were living in Miyagi prefecture, 53,000 persons of whom were at the coastal areas where the tsunami caused the damages. Applying the death toll (including the unaccounted number) per the total prefecture population ratio to the case of persons with disabilities, we estimate that about 500 persons with disabilities suffered at the coastal areas. From the different viewpoint, we estimate it as becoming about 2,300 when we apply the number of persons with disabilities per the total number of the population in the municipalities to the death toll in the municipalities.

Population, the number of persons with disabilities and the death toll (including the unaccounted) in Miyagi prefecture.

  Population Number of persons with disabilities Death toll and the unaccounted
number population ratio number suffering rate to the population
Miyagi prefecture 2,346,290 103,892 4.42% 11,891 0.51%
Coastal municipalities ※ 1,227,346 53,511 4.35% 0.97%
Estimated number of persons with disabilities suffered at the coastal areas     Using the population ratio    2,327     Using the suffering rate to the population    519

* The population in the coastal areas includes the population in Taihaku-ku, Wakabayashi-ku and Miyagino-ku.

As shown in the graph, the death toll in the population aged 60 and more was 7,241 (55 %) in 3 prefectures in Tohoku. Assuming that there are many elderly people with physically disabled certificates among the above-mentioned elderly population, the estimation using the population ratio of the persons with disabilities suffered from the disaster as being 2,300 may seem to be realistic. 130 days have already passed since the disaster; however, the number of the persons with disabilities suffering from the disaster has not been announced yet.

Death toll at East Japan Great Earthquake and Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake according to sex distinctions and the age
East Japan Great Earthquake (Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures)

Chart :Death toll at East Japan Great Earthquake and Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake according to sex distinctions and the age

Death toll at East Japan Great Earthquake and Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake according to sex distinctions and the age

Note: Figures of East Japan Great Earthquake were made by the Cabinet Office using data from the National Police Agency. The number has been accounted for the death toll through the autopsy as of April 11, 2011. (128 death toll with unknown sex distinctions were excluded in the figure.) Figures of Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake were made by data from Hyogo prefecture. (9 death toll with unknown sex distinctions were excluded in the figure.)

Reference: 2011 Disaster Prevention White Paper. (The above figures were made by this book using the data shown in the White Paper.)

The delay of grasping actual situation is due to the delay of the government's response.

Many of the municipalities in the coastal places suffered devastatingly from the disaster. A few of them had to suspend there administration functions completely. In such present situation, we cannot help but think that the delay of grasping actual situation is due to the delay of government's response.
For example, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced the number of orphans caused by the disaster as becoming 206 as of June 16. However, it seems to be underestimated.
The death toll of the people aged from 20 to 59 is equal to about 3,000 as shown in the graph (Left figure). Assuming that married persons are 1,000 among them, there must be at least 500 children under 20 years of age. Considering the number of children suffered from the disaster, there must be considerable number of orphans caused by the disaster. But the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare just announced the number that the 3 prefectures had reported.
We suggest that the government concentrate its energy more actively for grasping the actual situation and carrying out the support measures, not leaving the matter to local governments and municipalities. It cannot be late now.
(Reporter: Hiroshi Ono)

Support Center consultations up to July 20, 2011
1,418 persons
Total number of volunteers: 531 persons

Looking the situation of Minami-Sanriku-cho in front

(Writer: a supporter from Tokyo)

We drove from Miyagi Support Center for Minami-Sanriku-cho along the Sanriku Way.

We passed a tunnel and found piles of debris in front. It sounded "Gho―", the sounds of oil pressure shovels, idly in the place where there were no resident. We were amazed of the situation that was so different from other places in the prefecture.

This time, our group conducted a survey on the working and the employment of persons with disabilities in the prefecture and found that all working shift support centers had reopened already. In Minami-Sanriku-cho, where the disaster suffered devastatingly, the local government function seemed to be still in a confusion state, resulting in a considerable number of persons with disabilities left unemployed, standing by at home.

We visited Nozomi Welfare Workshop that was suffered from the tsunami. We found volunteers working on removal of debris. The workshop stood on a hill about 2 km far from the seashore. But it was swallowed in the tsunami. Knowing that fact, it was the moment when we realized the terror of the tsunami.

The workshop chief said that 2 of the workshop members were swallowed up by the tsunami though he hurried up their refuge from it. The others had to endure lives with cold in a mountain behind the workshop for 1 week. Tears streamed down my cheeks when I heard that unimaginable story. At present, the workshop reopened using a newly-built temporary prefabricated house. We heartily wished their early restoration.

We felt that the course of restoration and rehabilitation in the north coastal places were in the severe situation. The Northern Miyagi Support Center has been continuing the support for the reopening of center/facility along with the response to individual needs of people in the shelters and temporary houses.

Kahoku-Shinpou, the local newspaper in Tohoku, reported on July 15 of the lonely death of 2 elderly people in temporary houses. It happened just 1 week after their moving to the temporary houses. The administration official of the prefecture commented on this news that they would like local welfare officers to cooperate with them for strengthening home visit support. Thus will the problem be settled?

The needs of people living at home have been increasing more and more especially in the northern coastal places, for example, Ishinomaki, Onagawa and Minami-Sanriku. For our activities, more volunteers will be needed. We wish many volunteers from Kanto area including Tokyo come to help our fellows.


We are again recruiting volunteers at disaster areas.

Activity description:
(1) Volunteers at Support Centers Visits to shelters and centers/facilities in disaster areas to find and respond to their needs.
(2) Secretariats Telephone consultation, office works for general affairs, public information and accounting, etc.
Place for activity: Miyagi Support Center (Sendai City) and Northern Miyagi Support Center (Tome City)

Please call: +81-80-4373-6077

Translated by Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
Volunteer translator: Mr. Isamu Konishi