One Year from Kumamoto Earthquake

Kumamoto is not only a brand of oyster, but the place in Kyushu Island where historical, cultural and natural resources are rich. This region commemorates the first anniversary of devastation from unusually consecutive earthquakes, which caused 120 deaths. 47,725 sufferers are still in evacuation, leaving their home. Slow help of national government is still on the way.

170 death tolls were accumulated on immediate 50 during a year after the first strike of earthquake with magnitude 7. It was an unprecedented series of earthquakes that included two M7 quakes. 8,674 houses were broken down and 181,247 were partly collapsed. The greatest number of evacuees rose up to 183,882 three days after the first earthquake.

Having passed one year, the biggest problem for the evacuees is housing. 10,985 evacuees are living in 4,179 temporary houses accommodated by Kumamoto Prefectural Government. Kumamoto government also subsidizes 33,832 sufferers for their rent of 14,705 rooms, calling them presumable temporary houses, and provides 1,322 rooms in public housings for 2,908 people. The number of other evacuees living with their relatives is not fully registered yet.

Governor of Kumamoto, Ikuo Kabashima, realizes the greatest problem as finding permanent houses for all. Even after experiencing East Japan Great Earthquake six years ago, Disaster Relief Act still determines that temporary houses cannot be used for over two years. Like most sufferers in Tohoku area have concerned, the evacuees in temporary houses in Kumamoto are deeply worried about the possibility of being thrown out.

National government is neither willing to amend the provision nor to announce extension of the term. Moreover, it does not support for the families with partly collapsed houses, while subsidizing them with totally broken houses. Kumamoto local government decided to pay ¥100 thousand for the families with ¥1 million or more cost for reforming partly broken houses. “Although Kumamoto Earthquake is characterized as mostly damaging houses, helps from national government are weak,” Kabashima shows frustration.

Working on the desk in warm and clear office in Tokyo, the bureaucrats are always lagging behind in helping suffered people in emergency, especially when it comes to spending budget. Chairman of Kumamoto Reconstruction Experts Conference, Makoto Iokibe, who led reconstruction policy in East Japan Great Earthquake, argues that the national government has to raise the ratio of financial support for local government from 90% to 95 % or higher. “Even 10% of reconstruction spending is too much for local government to appropriate,” says Iokibe. Tokyo does not care, anyway.