The Leading Disaster Relief Agency　Civic Force

The views televised from high above the disaster areas - buildings and cars inundated with muddy water, mountainsides brutally scraped off and drifting timber scattered all around - told us that another huge disaster struck Japan.

Record-breaking heavy rains, which were described as “once in decades,” caused enormous damages especially in the western areas of Japan. The rains were triggered by a rain front that had been stationary since July 6, 2018. Death toll exceeded 100 in 13 prefectures as of July 9, and many people are still missing. As more people are still fleeing to evacuation shelters every day, we cannot yet assess the full extent of the damage.

Civic Force started collecting information just after the disaster broke out. We formed a disaster relief team with our partners, Asia Pacific Alliance Japan (A-PAD Japan) and Peace Winds Japan (PWJ). On July 7, as aerial survey became possible, we surveyed the flooded areas around Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures from a helicopter. On July 8, we sent a rescue team including doctors, nurses, rescue dogs and pilots to a hospital in Mabi Town in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. Our team successfully rescued all the patients stranded in the hospital by helicopters and boats. In addition, we have started patrolling and delivering relief supplies to the shelters.

In this newsletter, we will provide an early report on our emergency support for the serious disaster in western Japan. We will also report on our support activities for the Northern Kyushu Torrential Rain and Kumamoto Earthquake, and share the messages from the scholarship students and graduates of Dream Support Project.

NewsLetter Vol.15eng.pdf

 

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