Peace Winds is responding to the Western Japan Floods

Peace Winds is responding to the massive floods that devastated several prefectures in Western Japan after heavy rains struck on July 7 and 8.

We are currently supporting evacuation centers in the Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures. We will continue to update this page as more information is available.

7/12/18

Thursday the Peace Winds team responded at two municipalities, supporting rescue teams and supply delivery teams.

The rescue team worked jointly with local police, the fire department, and a rescue dog group in Aki – gun, Sakamachi, Hiroshima City.  Peace Winds dispatched its search dogs Yumejinjo, Hulk and Luke to search for missing persons.

The delivery team traveled to Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture and delivered 150 urethane mats and bed sheets provided by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. and 50 cases of tea offered by Good Earth to several evacuation shelters, including Hongo Lifelong Learning Center, Funaki Community Center, Golden Gathering Place, Mihara Municipal Nishinaga elementary school, Nishi-agada elementary school, Northern Community Center, and Dream Seseraga of the Elderly Care Health Facility

We deeply appreciate the companies who have donated goods and support to the evacuees.

7/11/18 

Peace Winds Japan continues to support evacuation centers in Hongo-cho, Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture. Our team has been in the area since July 8.

We were able to deliver household and food items to the Funaki Community Center and Dream Seseraga of the Elderly Care Health Facility.  Supplies included essentials such as bottled water, ramen cups, and canned food; household supplies of cassette stoves, pan sets, and kettles; and various hygiene and sanitary products, including clean clothes and underwear.

Approximately 60 evacuees, 20 staff members, and 10 families are currently living in the Dream Seseraga facility.  We are supporting the center with food, disposable diapers, and other supplies.  Since water systems remains shut down, Peace Winds used the water reservoir tank to allow some residents to bathe for the first time in six days.  We are installing temporary toilets and delivering 34 additional cases of water today as the water system remains contaminated due to the flood.

Nearly 500 people evacuated to the Hongo Lifelong Learning Center when the floods began.  Now 50 people remain. Even though many evacuees are departedthe shelters, they still return to collect supplies, including water.  Water systems remain shut off in many cities and thestill standing stores have no food supplies.  During the day at the Funaki Community Center, approximately 15 evacuees are  at the self-functioning evacuation shelter, but at night, almost twice as many come to sleep and receive supplies.

This is an increasingly common situation as evacuees begin returning to their homes to evaluate damages and salvage what they can. Many return home to find they have nothing left. Some spend the day at their homes cleaning and evaluating damages and then return to evacuation centers to receive supplies, use facilities, and sleep.  Even residents whose homes  are intact must wait in lines for supplies at the centers due to system shut downs.

Eevacuation areas and shelters are often not designated by the city, like the Seseraga facility, making it difficult to obain government support for food and other much needed supplies. This is where nonprofits/NGOs such as Peace Winds step in and remain after the military and government has left the area.

Peace Winds will continue delivering supplies and support to those who still need assistance, including water access, clean clothes, and installing temporary toilets.

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The Peace Winds Emergency Disaster Response Team entered Kure City, which had been temporarily isolated due to several landslides. Many road closures still exist in the area, with stagnant water and road damages making it difficult to reach cities..

About 50 evacuees are currently in Yasaura Town Planning Center in Kure city. We distributed food, water, and clothing items including underwear, socks and T-shirts provided by Saga newspaper and other companies.

7/10/18 

Peace Winds Japan continues to transport and deliver supplies to evacuation centers, mainly in Motohara-shono Hongo Town and Mura-cho Kurashiki city. Peace Winds has received support and assistance from many companies, organizations, and individuals.  Gunze Limited, an apparel company based in Japan, donated 9,500 pairs of underwear we were able to deliver to Kurashiki city Masaki-cho and to Mihara-shono Hongo town.  We are also delivering 1600 T-shirts, 3000 socks, 1,600 pairs of underwear, toilet paper, diapers, baby wipes, and other sanitary supplies donated by Lawson Corporation.  Many evacuees were happy to receive new clothing items, as many returned to their homes and found nothing survived.

Additionally we transported household goods such as disposable dishes and masks from the local FEP Pico Modern Pack to Hongo Town Long-Term Care Health Facility Dream Seseragi.

7-9-18

Peace Winds Japan delivered relief goods and supplies to The Funaki Fureai Community Center after the water service at the evacuation site had stopped. Peace Winds evaluated the hygiene situation and is working to get the system up and running again.

Our teams are surveying the situation around Mihara-shi, Hiroshima Prefecture and Miharu-cho Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture, as well as several evacuation centers, hospitals, elderly facilities, etc. that were in the affected flood areas.

The survey team is currently visiting elementary schools turned into evacuation centers in the affected areas.  The team is checking to ensure adequate water supply is available in the centers and gathering a list of missing supplies to send to city disaster countermeasures headquarters.
We are preparing for long-term accommodations for the evacuees who are currently in the centers and are awaiting on supplies to be delivered.

PWJ will purchase and distribute supplies of hygiene products and disinfection supplies to improve the hygiene in the evacuation centers, where disease and sickness can spread quickly if not handled immediately. We ordered supplies from Saga to be distributed to the Makibi town shelter.

7-8-18

PWJ dispatched the Emergency Joint Support Team (Civic Force / A-PAD Japan / Peace Winds Japan) to Masaki-cho, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Prefecture, in response to the heavy rains and flooding in west Japan.

On August 8, a doctor, nurse, and rescue team entered Mabi Memorial Hospital in Masaki-cho, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Prefecture to transport patients to safety. Around 50 patients were trapped in the hospital due to the first floor being partially submerged. The flooding also caused power outage in the hospital and several patients needed immediate medical assistance.

The rescue team received an urgent request from the hospital director to transfer a patient from the hospital rooftop to Okayama Medical University. Eight others were transported to the Red Cross Hospital. In cooperation with the SDF, we transported 11 people by boat and arranged 30 others to the SDF vehicles, fully evacuating the hospital by the end of the evening.

Based on team emergency specialist Doctor Kazutaka, in collaboration with HuMA (Disaster Humanitarian Medical Association), DMAT (Disaster Dispatch Medical Team), SDF, we were able to transport everyone who needed treatment to a medical institution. Patients, their families, and hospital staff said, “We were isolated and uneasy, but I was really relieved when the rescue team came.”

At night, we transported water, food, and other supplies such as underwear and diapers to the Funaki Community Center in Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, where assistance was needed due to a water outage in the area.

On the 9th, we will continue to investigate each shelter in Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Prefecture, distribute supplies, and survey Hongo, Mihara-shi, Hiroshima prefecture.

7-7-18

Just after the disaster, Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) formed a joint emergency support team with partner group Asia Pacific Alliance Japan (A-PAD Japan) and Civic Force against the flood damage in Western Japan which caused great damage to various areas.

Today at 12 pm, the joint emergency support team conducted a survey with a helicopter to confirm the damage situation. The survey was conducted mainly in Hiroshima Prefecture and Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, where damage is reported to be the highest. Currently, the local governments’ disaster headquarters and stakeholders cooperate with the local governments in areas where rescue activities and goods support are necessary and continue to conduct surveys.

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For flood damage in many places due to historic heavy rains, Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) immediately formed a joint emergency support team together with the Civic Force Asia Pacific Alliance Japan of Tona organizations (A-PAD Japan). We are preparing an emergency support system and rescue team.

Currently, we are investigating the damage situation and support destinations, etc. PWJ is accepting donations to designated donation accounts.

READ MORE about Peace Winds’ response in Japan.

DONATE HERE to support victims of the Western Japan Floods.