One month after the Noto earthquake, water overflowed from the landslide dam and the village and fields were muddy.

Wooden planks were used to remove mud, and buckets of earth and sand were relayed to remove the mud.

It has been more than a month since the Noto Peninsula earthquake struck. The search for survivors is still underway in the area. The reporter of this magazine saw a spectacular scene. A wide-area rescue team from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism and police forces from all over Japan were deployed in Ichinose Town, Wajima City, in northern Ishikawa Prefecture. They were searching for a man in his 50s who was missing, struggling with his feet caught in muddy water.

The earthquake caused a massive landslide in this area. The river was blocked by earth and sand, and the overflowing water flowed into the village and fields like a waterfall. The muddy land has made the search difficult.

The family home of the missing man has been washed away by the overflowing water and sediment to a point nearly 100 meters downstream from its original location. There is no trace of the house. ……

If the “sediment dam” that holds back the river were to break, it would cause a secondary disaster and cause even more extensive damage. At the site, work to prevent secondary disasters is proceeding at a rapid pace, with large sandbags being piled up.

More than 100 people, including police from Hyogo and Osaka, are engaged in a man-to-man search. Disaster rescue dogs have also been introduced. Heavy machinery is being used to scoop up earth and sand from the area where houses were swept away, and the crews are carrying them out in bucket relays.

Despite the harsh conditions, the people of Ishikawa Prefecture are standing strong. The Wajima branch of the curry chain “Gogo Curry” prepared curry for the victims. Regular bus service between Wajima and Kanazawa has resumed for the victims. People in the affected areas are making gradual steps toward recovery.