Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture - May 20- (NMC) Two months after Japan’s greatest natural disaster and the city of Rikuzentakata is still far from recovery.
Once home to 23,000 residents living near the Pacific Ocean, Rikuzentakata was devastated by a tsunami changing the lives of its citizens -- and the map -- forever.
Since the March 11 disaster, relief efforts have been continuing, but an estimated 60 percent of the population still resides in evacuation facilities.
For the U.N.’s World Food Programme, and other agencies deployed in Japan’s Tohoku region, helping those still in need is paramount.
The WFP’s logistic officer Mie Kataoka says the agency’s efforts have focused on shelter and logistical support.
"We had decided that one of the things required is logistical support, in particular for the storage facilities and the pre-fabs as an office use. We came into this Tohoku area on the 27th of March and we started to go into the field to the locations to find out if it is really needed -- if they would be interested in using it. We have also asked what are their constraints, and apparently it turned ot to be they are really concerned about storage facilities, because at that peak moment a lot of items were coming in." she says.
The WFP contributed to a new pre-fabricated city hall opening this week, after the original building was destroyed like much of Rikuzentakata in the wave that came 6 kms in-land.
But local officals say much still needs to be done as over 13,000 citizens cannot return home.
Itaru Kanno, Section Chief of Rikuzentakata Fire Department, says "To secure living quarters is our top priority. The displaced have been in evacuation centers for two months without privacy."
The WFP received all-terrain vehicles from Nissan to support aid efforts, and Logistics Officer Nobuyoshi Kida says transport was essential in the days after the tsunami.
Nobuyuki Kida says "As soon as the operation started, many, many organizations as well as government officials, they started looking for vehicles like rent-a-cars, but everyone rushed into rent-a-cars and no more vehicles were available. Then, it was very, very good timing that Nissan company provided us vehicles, which was a very, very big help."
Over $300 million in corporate aid and resources has been pledged to Japan relief efforts, and millions of dollars from indivudals in Japan and overseas.
Efforts to help Rikuzentakata and other tsunami-hit locations will take months and possibly even years, but the WFP and other aid groups on the ground aim to help build a road to eventual recovery.
