It has been one year since the Noto Peninsula earthquake. As of November 1th, close to the end of the year, 11 homes still have no water. This includes areas where early recovery is difficult and the effects of the heavy rains in September, but it is clear that basic infrastructure restoration has not been completed. If things continue as they are, there is a risk of multiple disasters due to heavy snow and lightning strikes. Since the Noto region was hit by a maximum seismic intensity of 25-low on November 901th, there have been a total of 9 earthquakes off the west coast of Ishikawa Prefecture, and this is a cause for concern as they may be related to the previous earthquakes.
Concerns over a sharp rise in disaster-related deaths
The Kumamoto earthquake in April 2016 caused a total of 4 deaths, including 50 direct deaths, 218 disaster-related deaths, and 273 secondary disaster deaths caused by heavy rain. Disaster-related deaths are deaths caused by injuries aggravated by the disaster or illnesses caused by the physical strain of living in evacuation shelters. The 273 deaths from the Kumamoto earthquake will occur as of March 2024, 3, eight years after the earthquake, meaning that in the eight years since the earthquake, there have been four times as many disaster-related deaths as direct deaths. [13]
As of November 11, the Noto Peninsula earthquake had caused 27 direct deaths in Ishikawa Prefecture, and 227 disaster-related deaths (including six in Niigata and Toyama). The total number of deaths was reported to be 247. [6] This means that in one year, the number of disaster casualties exceeds the number of casualties caused by the Kumamoto earthquake in seven years. This is a serious matter.
On November 11th, a roundtable discussion entitled "Recovery together. Universities passing the baton to recovery - 12 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake - (tentative title)" was held in Hyogo Prefecture, sponsored by the Japan Association of Private Universities (University Times), and I was one of the four members, as a university-related person close to the Noto Peninsula earthquake. At the event, Professor Yoshiaki Kawata, Director of the Kansai University Social Safety Research Center, who has been researching disasters in Japan for many years, expressed serious concerns that the Noto Peninsula earthquake could lead to a sharp increase in disaster-related deaths [30].
[1] "8 years since the Kumamoto earthquake: Learning from the lessons of disaster-related deaths that accounted for 8% of the deaths" (accessed November 2024.11.25, XNUMX)
https://weathernews.jp/s/topics/202404/050215/
[2] Hokuriku Chunichi Shimbun, November 2024.11.28, 1, page XNUMX
[3] This event will be published in the January 30 issue of the University Times, an association of private universities, under the tentative title “Together toward recovery: Universities passing the baton of recovery – 2025 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake –.”
What we can do
According to Kumamoto Prefecture, the causes of the 221 disaster-related deaths in the Kumamoto earthquake were classified as follows: 112) "physical and mental stress due to the shock of the earthquake and fear of aftershocks" (40 people, 81%), 28.9) "physical and mental stress of living in evacuation shelters, etc." (14 people, 5%), 9) "delay in initial treatment due to the suspension of medical institutions (including transfer to other hospitals) (including worsening of existing conditions and onset of illness)" (3.2 people, 280%), and 1) "decline in the nursing care function of social welfare facilities, etc." (XNUMX people, XNUMX%) (XNUMX cases in total due to multiple answers) [XNUMX]. It is speculated that the situations of XNUMX) to XNUMX) are even more serious and severe in the Noto Peninsula earthquake than in Kumamoto. Although extensive medical support is essential, there are certain limitations to it.
In Kumamoto, the following five points have been given as examples of ways to prevent disaster-related deaths:
(1) Drink as much water and eat as much food as possible (including toilet care)
(2) Measures against economy class syndrome (move your body even a little)
(3) Infectious disease prevention and oral care
(4) Stress management
(5) Continuing to take medication (stockpiling prescription drugs)
In other words, even if you're not a medical professional, you may be able to help to some extent by being nearby to watch over the person or provide conversation.
Due to concerns about aftershocks, heavy rains, and even heavy snowfall and lightning strikes in the winter, the pages of local newspapers on November 11th were filled with the heartbreaking lamentations of people from all walks of life, from children to the elderly, such as, “Are you saying we can’t live in Noto anymore?” [28], “I’m heartbroken again,” “Will it be like New Year’s Day again?”, “Have I been too happy up until now?” and “I’m so scared of earthquakes that I can’t go to school.” [4]
[4] Hokkoku Shimbun, 2024.11.28, page 1 “Toki Bell”
[5] Hokuriku Chunichi Shimbun, November 2024.11.28, 1, pages 25 and XNUMX
We are with you
Over the past year, volunteer activities at our university have been actively carried out in various situations. As the president of our university, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and respect to the students, faculty, staff, local people, and other related parties who have cooperated with us. I believe that volunteer work is a valuable activity in itself, no matter what it is, but unlike the police, fire department, or Self-Defense Forces, we are not a group with a wide range of skills and diverse and specialized abilities. Also, although the students are young and physically strong, I believe that the meaning of volunteering, which leads to students' learning, may be diminished if they only volunteer to perform specific tasks as instructed.
I think that there is educational significance in the fact that students go to the field, discover what the problem is, reframe it as a problem that can be solved, and then consider and execute the PDCA cycle by themselves while assessing the results. This allows them to acquire problem-finding and problem-solving skills that are suited to real-world situations. In addition, by realizing through volunteer activities that they are members of society and that their existence and the studies they are studying that interest them are connected to making society even a little better, students are able to confirm their reason for being and this is a major link to their personal growth.
To all students, faculty and staff at Kanazawa Seiryo University, please continue to go out and help with the Noto Maru in various ways when the opportunity arises, whether as individuals, with friends, as a seminar, group or club, or as a workplace. Do it within your limits, taking into account the weather, local conditions, your physical strength and volunteer skills. We are with you... If by doing so we can prevent even one disaster-related death, or if it can bring smiles back to people's faces, nothing would make me happier.
Our university has stated in our mid-term plan that we will "walk together with the creative reconstruction of the Noto Peninsula," and will continue to make efforts toward the "creative reconstruction of the Noto Peninsula." We will also fully support volunteer activities. For more information, please contact our university's SDGs Industry-Academia Collaboration and Regional Collaboration Center.
Kanazawa Seiryo University
President Hidetoshi Okubo
Born in Aomori Prefecture in 1950. Completed the Graduate School of Physical Education, University of Tsukuba in 1982. Doctorate (academic) in 1997.
Lecturer at Morioka University, assistant professor and professor at Kanazawa University. Professor Emeritus in 2015, Specially Appointed Professor at Kanazawa Seiryo University. In 2020, she served as president of Kanazawa Seiryo University Women's Junior College, and has been in her current position since 2022. Her specialty is physical education and sports history. Author of numerous books and articles, including ``Research on the History of Local Physical Education in the Meiji Period'', ``From Tied Legs to Natural Legs: School Girls' Physical Education in Taiwan in the Early Japanese Colonial Period'', and ``The Phantom Noto Ekiden that Tried to Surpass the Hakone Ekiden''. Her hobbies include skiing/skating, tennis, and walking. She publishes the ``President's Column'' and ``From the Window of the President's Office'' (~2024.3/Junior College) on the university website.
