One year after the Noto Peninsula earthquake… The true feelings of the disaster victims and their “determination for recovery

The earthquake and torrential rains left people despairing that it was all over.

A year has passed since the Noto Peninsula was hit by a major earthquake of magnitude 7 on January 1, 2012. As of the end of last year, at least 500 people had died. The whereabouts of two people are still unknown.

In early January 2013, in the midst of freezing temperatures, this reporter visited the morning market street in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, again. The city’s most popular tourist spot, which had been burned to the ground by a fire immediately after the earthquake, had been cleared of much of its debris. While demolition work is underway at public expense, discussions are underway regarding the reconstruction of the town around Asaichi-dori.
A 65-year-old landowner who participated in the “First Wajima City Honmachi Area Community Development Council,” which was inaugurated on December 21 last year, told a reporter, “The area around Asaichi-dori has been cleared of debris.

There is talk of building a big road through the cleared area. However, it is still unclear who will manage the land rights where the road will be built. There are also requests from store owners along Asaichi Street to build a temporary shopping street, but none of these requests has led to any concrete action. One participant brought high school students with him, saying, “I want to hear the opinions of young people.

Earthquakes are not the only thing that has hit the Noto Peninsula. In September last year, rivers overflowed due to torrential rains with a total rainfall of over 400 mm per 24 hours. The muddy waters swept into temporary housing, breaking the hearts of disaster victims who were making progress toward recovery. In Wajima City, the area near the Fureai Health Center, located 200 meters from Asaichi Street, was severely damaged. An elderly woman who lives across the street from the Fureai Health Center, which also served as an evacuation center, recalls the disaster and mutters, “If you go to the evacuation center right in front of me, I will give you a simple solution.

She said, “I could manage to live after the earthquake because there were simple toilets at the shelter in front of me and electricity was available in my house. But the floodwaters began to rise quickly when the road in front of us started to flood after 7:00 a.m. on the morning of the …… day. By 7:30, the water was already up to our knees, and by the time we evacuated to the “Fureai Health Center,” it was too muddy to even cross the road. By the time we evacuated to the Fureai Health Center, it was too muddy to cross the street. Everything in the house was swept away, even the car parked in the back. After the water receded, clay-like mud was deposited inside the house. …… I thought, “It’s over,” and I didn’t have the motivation to do anything.

Halfway to Reconstruction

On the sidewalk of Route 249, which runs along the coastline of Wajima City, several hundred meters of blue pipes, each about 30 cm in diameter, were exposed. These water pipes were laid urgently after the earthquake to restore water and sewage services. However, because they were exposed, they were damaged again by the subsequent torrential rain and flooding.

Still, despite the tremendous damage caused by the earthquake and flooding, some of the disaster victims responded to our interview with smiles. Yoshimichi Namatame (81), owner of the izakaya “Ippai” in Wajima City, had his store and home completely destroyed by the earthquake. He reopened the izakaya on November 1.

I love the town of Wajima and have lived here for 50 years. When I lost my house and store in the earthquake, I immediately gave up. When I lost my house and shop in the earthquake, I immediately gave up, because I couldn’t live there anymore. The floodwaters came into the store to a height of about 170 cm. 4 refrigerators, baking tables and fryers, everything was overturned. It took four people two weeks to remove the accumulated mud. It was tough, but earthquakes and floods are natural disasters, and things happen the way they do.

What was the driving force behind the opening of the izakaya, even though it was hit twice? Mr. Ikutame continued, “I am an optimistic person by nature.

I am an optimistic person by nature, but I was also motivated by the fact that there were people around me who had suffered much worse. I know a family that was affected by the earthquake, and when the first tremor hit, the father told his children, ‘Go get the car! and sent them to get it. But when the kids came back to their house, the roof had fallen off after the second tremor. The parents were left behind in the house, but they couldn’t help. Eventually the tsunami was going to come, and the child ran away when his father told him to ‘run away. Later, their house caught fire and they lost their parents. There are many others who have suffered such tragedy. I can’t say anything. We are a species with a life of its own.”

In Noto, the disaster has caused a population exodus, and the birthrate is declining and the population is aging rapidly. More than 100 roads are still impassable, and hundreds of victims are forced to live in evacuation centers. Reconstruction is still in its infancy.