JAPAN: Some of Japan's earthquake and tsunami refugees move into temporary housing

Record ID: 465089

  • Title: JAPAN: Some of Japan's earthquake and tsunami refugees move into temporary housing
  • Date: 13th April 2011
  • Summary: RIKUZENTAKATA CITY, IWATE PREFECTURE, JAPAN (APRIL 12, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF COMPLEX OF TEMPORARY HOUSES MAN WALKING INTO TEMPORARY HOUSE ROWS OD TEMPORARY HOUSING WOMAN HANGING LAUNDRY OUTSIDE TEMPORARY HOUSE PEOPLE CARRYING FURNITURE INTO TEMPORARY HOUSE WOMAN HOLDING LAUNDRY DETERGENT WOMAN HANDING OVER LAUNDRIES DETERGENT TO TAMIKO TAKAHASHI WHO MOVED INTO TEMPORARY HOUSE KITCHEN IN TEMPORARY HOUSING FRIDGE POT OVER STOVE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 78-YEAR-OLD TENANT OF TEMPORARY HOUSE, TAMIKO TAKAHASHI, SAYING "I'm really grateful to everyone. I cannot express in words how much I thank those who supported me until I move into this house." ELECTRICITY METER WATER TANK EIKO KUMAGAI, TENANT OF TEMPORARY HOUSE, ORGANISING KITCHEN (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 35-YEAR-OLD TENANT OF TEMPORARY HOUSE, EIKO KUMAGAI, SAYING "Last night, all four family members slept together in one room for the first time in a long time, so I was very happy." EXTERIOR OF EMERGENCY SHELTER NEXT TO TEMPORARY HOUSES REFUGEES RESTING INSIDE SHELTER MEN TALKING TO EACH OTHER MAN LAYING DOWN IN SHELTER MAN READING BOOK BEHIND STOVE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 68-YEAR-OLD REFUGEES LIVING IN SHELTER, HIROSHI SUZUKI, SAYING "To get one of these houses is like to win the first prize in a lottery." VARIOUS OF MAN HANGING LAUNDRY BEHIND WIRE-FENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 63-YEAR-OLD TENANT OF TEMPORARY HOUSE, KYOKO KUNO, SAYING "The rebuilding process will virtually kick off from now as we finally settled down in a house; though it's a temporary one. I slept really well last night." EXTERIOR OF TEMPORARY HOUSES
  • Embargoed: 28th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVAEN9DL3F9C8NHQ02RPRRGR4ZW8
  • Story Text: After a month of cramped evacuation centres and soup kitchens, for the lucky few, a home at last.
    In Rikuzentaka, a fishing town about 130 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of Sendai, 36 families from the more than 150,000 tsunami and earthquake refugees nationwide, finally made it into temporary housing on Tuesday (April 12).
    "I'm really grateful to everyone. I cannot express in words how much I thank to those support me until I move into this house," said 78-year-old Tamiko Takahashi.
    Rikuzentaka's city council made a selection of small, two-room homes available on Sunday (April 10), rent-free. Electrical furnishings were donated by the Japanese branch of the Red Cross.
    Despite the size -- most measure only 29 square metres -- some tenants said the houses had brought their families together after the brutal separation caused by last month's tsunami.
    "Last night, all four family members slept together in one room for the first time in a long time, so I was very happy," said Eiko Kumagai, a 35-year-old mother-of-two who was forced to leave her children with a relative while she and her husband stayed in an evacuation centre.
    The first batch of temporary housing, built on the playground of Rikuzentakata No.1 Junior High School, has been allocated to families with handicapped members or infants. Rikuzentakata city council has pledged to build up to 2,000 temporary homes for tsunami victims.
    But with about 3,600 houses destroyed in the quake and tsunami of March 11, some applicants were concerned about potential shortages.
    "To get one of these houses is like to win the first prize in a lottery," said Hiroshi Suzuki, a 68-year-old evacuee and applicant for a temporary home.
    Analysts say the current pace of replacement housing construction has been far behind that seen in the wake of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
    For those who made it into temporary accommodation, it was a sign of better things to come.
    "The rebuilding process will virtually kick off from now as we finally settled down in a house; though it's a temporary one. I slept really well last night," said 63-year-old Kyoko Kuno, one of the lucky winners of the council's housing ballot.
    Rikuzentakata was one of the worst hit locations in Japan's devastated northeast, with local government putting the toll at 1,239 dead and 1,179 registered missing as of April 11.
    In all about 154,215 people are still in shelters and at least 55,758 buildings have been fully destroyed, washed away or burned down, according to figures released by the National Police Agency of Japan said on Tuesday.
    Tokyo estimates the material damage could top $300 billion, making it by far the world's costliest natural disaster.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register