1 Year On: Double Disasters Leaving Some Children Traumatized in Noto

Jiji Press

11:19 JST, December 31, 2024

Wajima, Ishikawa Pref. (Jiji Press)—The massive earthquake that rocked the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on Jan. 1 and the record-breaking downpours that hit the same region in late September have left local children emotionally scarred, with some still in poor health due in part to the widening gap in living conditions caused by the double disasters.

Experts warn of the possibility of children also experiencing the so-called anniversary effect, or disturbing feelings that can occur on or around the anniversary of a traumatic event, stressing the importance of their family’s understanding of such circumstances.

According to Ishikawa Prefecture, which covers most of the Noto Peninsula, about 1,000 school counselors from within and outside the prefecture had been dispatched to schools in the Noto region by July, providing children with mental care in cooperation with staff members of local juvenile classification centers.

Junichi Sugiki, 38, an official of a juvenile classification center in Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa, who has been having counseling sessions with junior high school students in the cities of Wajima and Suzu in the prefecture, said, “The shock caused by the additional disaster of heavy rains was bigger (than the shock of earthquake).”

In late August, the Ishikawa prefectural government announced that it would close all primary shelters set up at school gymnasiums and other places within the following month. The heavy rain disaster hit the Noto region in late September, when the second semester of local schools had begun and students were about to get back to their conventional daily lives. A junior high school student in Wajima was among the 16 fatal victims of the downpours.

“The students were deeply disheartened as they had just begun to engage positively in school activities,” Sugiki said.

As the heavy rain damage was localized, mainly hitting areas along rivers, only some students were forced to return to evacuation centers, with the gap in living conditions widening among children.

There are also differences in the extent to which children’s health has recovered. “While most students have gotten better, some are still suffering headaches, stomach pains and lack of sleep and are struggling with differences from those around them,” according to Sugiki.

On students’ health, Mitsuru Kikuchi, professor at Kanazawa University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, expressed concerns about the anniversary effect, saying that children’s memories of the disasters may be revived including around the first anniversary of the Noto Peninsula earthquake and that they may feel physically and mentally unwell.

“It’s important to know that it is a natural reaction that can happen to anyone,” Kikuchi added.

He also said, “The Noto Peninsula earthquake is linked to the atmosphere of the New Year, so memories (of the disaster) can easily be brought back around that time.”

To cope with such a situation, Kikuchi said that it would be effective to build self-confidence through evacuation drills, for example.

“If you wait patiently, your mental and physical condition will improve. The understanding of family members living together would also be necessary” for the recovery of children’s health, he said.