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In Typhoon, Elderly People Most at Risk
The Asahi Shimbun
Japan
September 8, 2005
Photo by Time.com
Once again, it was the elderly who suffered most when a typhoon ravaged Kyushu and other areas this week. Of the 27 dead or missing, more than half were senior citizens.
The figure brings into sharp focus the need to draw up measures to ensure that people aged 65 or older are able to evacuate their homes and seek safety in a natural disaster, officials said.
Officials noted that 22 of the 27 dead or missing were caught up in landslides. Nineteen of the victims were senior citizens, according to a tally by The Asahi Shimbun.
Critics contend that local governments have not learned from the spate of natural disasters that pummeled Japan last year, resulting in about 230 deaths. In those cases, many of the victims were elderly.
The bodies of three women in their 70s were found in a small community in Tarumizu, Kagoshima Prefecture. Although they lived alone, they were huddling inside the home of one of the women when a torrent of mud and rocks swept the dwelling away.
The house was located about 6 kilometers from central Tarumizu. A community center that served as a shelter for local citizens lies more than 2 km away.
An 88-year-old neighbor said, "I couldn't get there without being offered a lift in a car."
City administrators planned to provide transport to the shelters for residents who requested assistance. However, the city did not announce the offer over the wireless system used in emergencies. As a result, many residents were unaware of the service.
The city issued a warning to residents to evacuate their homes, but only after the mudflow hit.
By that time, the road leading up to the shelter was blocked by mud and rocks, residents said.
"We must devise better measures for areas that have many senior residents," said Tarumizu Mayor Junichi Mizusako. "I have learned that we need to give instructions to evacuate much earlier, and, if necessary, forcibly guide people to shelters."
Similar problems were noted in the aftermath of torrential downpours in Niigata Prefecture as well as Typhoon No. 21 last year.
At the time, many people complained they did not hear instructions to evacuate given through loud speakers from vehicles circling communities because they were taking shelter inside their homes. In some cases, the warnings simply came too late.
In March, the central government compiled guidelines for evacuating senior citizens in times of emergency.
Local governments were instructed to use the guidelines as a basis for coming up with their own plans to help the needy when disaster strikes.
In reality, though, many local autonomies have yet to devise backup plans. This is because the work might involve taking advantage of private information, which has invasion of privacy ramifications, officials said.
Officials of Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture, issued a warning to residents to evacuate to safer ground only after a landslide hit the area, leaving five people dead or missing.
Officials said their calls for residents in risky places to voluntarily evacuate mostly went unheeded.
Meanwhile, officials in the town of Mimata, where a landslide resulted in the deaths of two elderly people, did not issue any warning.
Officials explained that they did not think evacuation was necessary because the town had barriers erected in areas at risk of landslides.
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