News in Pictures / Noto Quake Evacuees Suffer from Prolonged Stay at Centers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:59 JST, January 16, 2024

Monday marked two weeks since the powerful Noto Peninsula Earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture. As of Sunday, nearly 20,000 people were still staying at evacuation centers, and 14 disaster-related deaths that occurred since being evacuated were confirmed as of 2 p.m. Monday.

Concerns are rising for the elderly staying at evacuation centers amid severe cold weather and poor sanitary conditions due to prolonged water outages. The spread of infectious diseases is also a worry.

In the disaster-hit areas, many are still left in isolated communities where it is difficult to get support, and some are still sleeping in their cars. A growing number of people are suffering from hypothermia and being transported to hospitals.

The authorities are trying to promote secondary evacuations, which use hotels and inns outside the disaster area as shelters until temporary housing is built. However, it is impossible to transport large numbers of evacuees all at once, so significant aid within the disaster-hit areas needs to continue for the time being.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida toured the affected areas on Sunday and said to reporters, “In some areas, it is expected to take more than three months to restore roads and water systems.” He then urged evacuees to proactively consider secondary evacuations to protect their lives and health.

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