Category: Disasters

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 13, 2024 Number of comments0
Deaf Disability Disasters Earthquake Hearing Impaired Japan Podcast Typhoon

[Emergency Broadcast] Typhoons, Earthquakes & Survey of Deaf Peoples Needs in Disasters

On the 10th, three staff members from the Prefectural Center for the Hearing Impaired drove around the homes of hearing-impaired people living in the city, where a seismic intensity of 6-low was observed in the earthquake on the 8th. The staff members used sign language to ask about damage caused by the earthquake and their concerns. Mitsuhira Kazuo, director of the Prefectural Center for the Deaf, who conducted the survey, said, “We don’t know when the next big earthquake will occur, so we went there to listen in detail. We would like to hear the honest feelings of disabled people in other areas of the prefecture as well.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 13, 2024 Number of comments0
2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Disability Disasters Earthquake Elderly Japan

As society ages, Japan faces challenge in helping vulnerable people in disasters [Mainichi Shimbun Editorial]

How can we support the lives of elderly evacuees in disaster-affected areas? This is a challenge that Japan faces as a whole as its population ages.

Four months have passed since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in central Japan. In the Okunoto region that was hit directly by the quake, close to half of the residents are seniors. Elderly care facilities that have supported the welfare of local residents also sustained major damage.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 15, 2024 Number of comments0
Disasters Earthquake Elderly Japan Mental Health

13 Years After Major Earthquake Miyagi Governor Stresses Need for Psychological Care

The governor of Miyagi, one of the northeastern Japan prefectures hit hard by a massive earthquake and tsunami 13 years ago, emphasized the need for psychological care for those affected by the disaster.

The number of people experiencing mental issues has gone up due to changes in their environment following the March 11, 2011, disaster, Murai said, adding that the number of elderly residents living alone has increased as well.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 27, 2024 Number of comments0
2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Disability Disasters Earthquake Intellectual disabilities Japan

Quake evacuees with mental disabilities have few places to go

Residents with mental and intellectual disabilities have faced difficulties finding and staying at evacuation centers in disaster-hit areas of Ishikawa Prefecture.

The shelters are not equipped to provide the special needs of these quake victims, and other evacuees have complained about their new disabled neighbors.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 13, 2024 Number of comments0
Disability Disasters Earthquake Japan

People with disabilities account for over 20% of 2010s Japan disaster-linked deaths

People with disabilities accounted for more than 20% of deaths caused by physical and mental strain following major earthquakes in the 2010s in Japan, a recent Kyodo News study showed.

The survey of local governments showed 21% of deaths linked to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan involved people with disability certificates, while the comparable figure from the 2016 quakes in Kumamoto Prefecture, stood at 28%.

The figures are particularly high when compared with the proportion of disabled people in the population, which the central government estimates at 9%.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 2, 2024 Number of comments0
2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Disability Disasters Earthquake Elderly Japan

Japan Govt to Increase Financial Aid to Noto Earthquake Victims; Help Aimed at Households with Elderly or Disabled Members

The Japanese government will create a new program in which financial assistance of up to ¥3 million will be provided to households with elderly or disabled members in six municipalities in the northern Noto Peninsula, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday.

The program is aimed to help residents of the disaster-hit area, which has a large elderly population, rebuild their lives.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 27, 2024 Number of comments0
2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Disability Disasters Earthquake Japan Podcast Politics

Disability News Japan Podcast: Japan’s Politicians with Disabilities Meet to Discuss Quake Response

A meeting of a national organization made up of local politicians with disabilities was held in Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture on January 15th, and the plan was to provide extensive support to people with disabilities in anticipation of a prolonged evacuation period following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 22, 2024 Number of comments0
2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Disability Disasters Earthquake Japan Podcast

Disability News Japan Podcast: In Quake-Affected Areas, Needing the Familiar, Some Residents of Facilities for Disabled Turn Down ‘Secondary Evacuation’ Option

NHK reported on its TV programme ‘News Watch 9’ on January 22nd that four ‘Group Homes’ and facilities for people with disabilities in Ishikawa Prefecture decided not to take the ‘secondary evacuation’ option, out of a concern that a change of environment might be disruptive to their mental health.