Source: NHK World
Date: 10/10/2011
by:
Catherine Kobayashi
Part 1: Seven months since the disaster:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/11_09.html
It's been seven months since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
In
the hardest hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, 2,231
people are still living in 205 shelters, but more and more people are
moving into temporary housings.
Police say the death toll as of October 7th stood at 15,761.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
07:20 +0900 (JST)
Part 2: All shelters closing in hard-hit Ishinomaki:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/10_22.html
Officials
in the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture are closing the last
remaining shelters for survivors of the March 11th earthquake and
tsunami. Residents and volunteers have renewed their vow to rebuild
their community.
About 50 of them gathered on Monday at one of
the last remaining evacuation centers. All shelters will be closed on
Tuesday because city authorities have finished building temporary
housing units.
The survivors presented letters of gratitude and
flowers to the volunteers who helped run the shelter. Some of them
performed a traditional lion dance.
They also shared memories of the 7 months they spent at the evacuation center.
One
man in his 60s said he will be sad to be separated from other survivors
because they supported each other. He said he will hold onto the memory
of the shelter and move forward. He also vowed to make a fresh start
and return to where he used to live.
Ishinomaki is one of the
areas in Japan's northeast that was hit hardest by the earthquake and
tsunami. About 50,000 people were staying at the city's 250 evacuation
centers at one point.
Monday, October 10, 2011
22:04 +0900 (JST)
Part 3: Onagawa residents move into temporary housing:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/11_05.html
Residents
in the disaster-hit Onagawa Town in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern
Japan, began moving into new temporary housing on Monday.
About 220 Onagawa residents are still living in shelters.
Architect
Shigeru Ban designed 2- and 3-storey temporary houses made from
shipping containers. The town built 189 new residences on a baseball
field.
Onagawa is surrounded by mountains and has limited space
for construction. Teiji Kobayashi from the Onagawa office in charge of
the town's reconstruction said it was difficult to secure land. He also
said that the multi-storey housing would attract attention and cheer up
those who live there.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
03:37 +0900 (JST)
