The Nippon Foundation Swiftly Sends Disaster Response Teams to Quake-Hit Noto Peninsula, Starts Collecting Donations (2)
On January 5, Love Pocket Fund, jointly established by The Nippon Foundation and three former members of the iconic boy band SMAP, announced that it has started collecting donations from the public help support those who have been affected by the powerful earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula and nearby areas on the Sea of Japan coast on New Year’s Day.
At the same time, the fund said it donated 50 million yen (about $345,000) for the relief efforts. I was quite impressed by the enthusiasm of the trio－Messrs. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori－who said: “By being kind to others, we can be happy.”
On January 10, The Nippon Foundation chartered the 462-ton RORO (Roll-on/roll-off) cargo ship “Aguni” to deliver 2,000 liters of kerosene, 1,000 liters of diesel fuel, and five generators to the city of Wajima on the northern tip of the peninsula where the damage was most severe.
RORO ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles and trucks, which are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels.
With five trucks carrying the fuel and generators on board, the vessel, owned by Wako Senpaku (Shipping), left Kanazawa Port in Kanazawa, the prefectural capital, at around 11:30 a.m. on January 10, heading north to reach Wajima Port at 4:00 p.m.
Then, two of the trucks delivered two generators and 180 liters of diesel fuel to a nursing home “Atenoki-En” in Wajima City. The generators were installed at around 11:30 p.m. to resume power supply for the first time since the New Year’s Day quake. As of January 12, there were 12,200 households that remained without power, according to NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster.
Given that roads were extensively damaged on the peninsula, hindering the work of rescue services, Executive Director Mitsuyuki Unno of The Nippon Foundation told the media: “As we found a usable port in Wajima, we decided to transport emergency supplies by sea in consultation with local governments.”
Going forward, we plan to provide additional generators and fuel as well as portable showers and sinks, and we have also arranged for heavy-duty vehicles to transport goods as needed.
For now, the foundation plans to continue delivering emergency supplies via sea on a daily basis at least until January 20, Mr. Unno said, adding: “But 10 days may not be enough. We may have look at this over the longer term, possibly until the end of winter.”
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