In response to the strong typhoon that affected the extensive areas of east Japan, AMDA has been carrying out emergency relief in Fukushima and Nagano prefectures since the 13th and 14th of October 2019.
According to media reports (as of 14th), about 38,000 people have been evacuated across 17 prefectures with 3,700 homes being flooded. The death toll rose to 56 by Monday the 14th while local fire departments, police and the Self Defence Forces have been searching for those who are missing due to landslides and river overflows. The disaster has been taking a toll on people’s lives in which power and water outages still continue in some areas.
Fukushima:
On 14 October, AMDA dispatched a relief team to typhoon-hit Soma City in Fukushima. The relief mission is a joint effort with two municipalities in Okayama (Soja and Akaiwa), both of which have a partnership agreement with AMDA on disaster relief. In the evening of the same day, the joint team comprising a total of 10 personnel paid a courtesy visit to Soma City Mayor and discussed further assistance.
Nagano:
On 13 October, AMDA dispatched a relief team to Nagano which had been faced with severe flooding. Upon arriving, the team visited Nagano Prefectural Government for information gathering. While the municipality had been assessing the situations surrounding medical facilities and shelters in different localities, the vicinity of the prefectural government office itself seemed unaffected.
On the following day (14th), AMDA team (comprising three doctors and three nurses) visited Nagano City Health Bureau to take part in a disaster response meeting. After that, three doctors and one nurse collaborated with the city's public health nurses to conduct a needs assessment in emergency shelters, while two other nurses handled coordination work at the health bureau.
At night, two of the doctors and one nurse did their rounds at one of the evacuation shelters in the city.
(Kindly stay tuned for more updates.)