A box of medical masks, a number of disinfectants, and a sticker “Please wear a mask” can be seen at the entrance of the gymnasium in Yatsushiro. This is the shelter for the residents who have escaped the catastrophic floods in southwestern Japan this week.

In another place of the gymnasium, there is a cardboard partition that divides the sleeping place of 233 evacuees, and on another sticker, there is a note that the thermometer should be disinfected every morning.

These measures show how difficult it is for Japan to deal with natural disasters in Corona.

Japanese authorities have warned local governments for the last few months to include disaster response in corona countermeasures. Residents have been urged to consider moving to acquaintances and relatives to avoid crowding evacuation centers where possible.

However, when the neighbors hit the door of the 78-year-old retired Ishimura Aiko’s house and told her evacuation advice, it was not the case for Ishimura to be prepared for corona infection.

Living alone, Ishimura was planning to evacuate at home.

“That’s why we came in in our outfits. We came here in a hurry. We didn’t bring anything,” she told Reuters, who had blamed the neighbors. “I didn’t care about Corona at all, really at all.”
“There aren’t many people infected here in the first place. I don’t wear a mask all the time,” she added, but she said it was still a mask in her pocket. I have put in.

According to the public broadcasting NHK, there are more than 20,000 infected people in Japan, but only 49 people are infected in Kumamoto prefecture, where Yatsushiro city is located.
The number of infected people has risen again among the 14 million people, which is not comparable to Tokyo, which is about to reach 7,000.

Mazda Mika, a 48-year-old nurse, was also accustomed to the annual floods in the area and was thinking of evacuating her home. But early in the morning she opened the door and was surprised to see the river’s water spilling into the tens of centimeters below the floor.

“I didn’t think water would reach us, because the land is a little higher here,” she said.

In recent years, extreme weather disasters have become common in Japan. More than 200 people died in western Japan a few decades ago a year before last year, but one year later, last year’s Typhoon No. 19 killed nearly 100 people.

Mazda says he is not so worried about the new coronavirus infection if basic precautions are taken, but when the residents gather to chat and the risk of infection increases, it will be in a crowded state that the authorities say I was worried about that.

Municipal official Ono Takanobu said shelters were limited to 300 for a capacity of 500. But he said that the first priority for people evacuating is to evacuate to save lives.

“Some people were quick to save,” he says. “In reality, the coronavirus is secondary to the residents… we are taking the necessary measures, but we are not taking a strict attitude about it.”
Kyushu including Kumamoto It is estimated that more than 60 people have died in floods and landslides due to the heavy rains that hit the region from Saturday. On Wednesday, special heavy rain warnings were also recommended in several parts of the Chubu region.

Disaster experts say it is crucial to encourage people to find early evacuation and alternative shelters, but they also agree that it is difficult to persuade people to plan ahead. ..

“We continue to say,’Please check the local hazard map,'” said Masako Yoneda, Japan Disaster Reduction Academic Collaboration. The organization issued an emergency warning in May. “But there are still people who do not confirm.”

Reuters