More than a week has passed since a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake turned New Year’s Day into disaster in Ishikawa Prefecture, where at least 202 have died and about 100 remain missing.
Over the three-day weekend, a team from The Japan Times reported from the hard-hit Noto Peninsula — including the city of Wajima, where buildings were flattened and a major fire destroyed the central morning market. In Wajima and beyond, homes were toppled, family members were taken and livelihoods were erased.
Our team had all seen media reports in the quake’s aftermath, but the reality on the ground was worse than we could have imagined. City blocks were flattened, many roadways remained impassable and some evacuees faced life in shelters with no running water — and no prospects for a return home.
But amid the scenes of devastation, we also saw the faces of survivors and heard their stories. And we witnessed a massive relief effort not just from the Self-Defense Forces or fire and police departments from around the nation, but also from an army of volunteers.
Now, eight days on, the narrative about the disaster is shifting. The window during which it’s likely to find survivors in the rubble has passed, and now the authorities are focused on relief and recovery as they attempt to confirm the whereabouts of the missing.
And, as is the case with many tragic news events, attention will surely begin to gradually shift away as the recovery effort continues. But for the thousands of survivors, and the growing network of volunteers, one thing is clear — the story has just begun.
[Click on photos to enlarge.]
In the city of Wajima, one of the hardest-hit areas, many of the older, wooden structures were reduced to piles of rubble. As of Tuesday, the city has recorded one of the highest death tolls among municipalities in Ishikawa, second only to Suzu. As of this weekend, the collapsed structures remained as they were since the quake, with the relief effort having yet to move into a clean-up mode.
| Mark Thompson
| Daniel Traylor
| Kathleen Benoza
| Daniel Traylor
| Daniel Traylor
In Wajima, the quake sparked a large-scale fire that laid waste to more than 200 structures in a popular morning market, including shops and homes. By the weekend, the charred market remains were no longer smoldering as they had earlier in the week, with snow falling on the city as police inspected the site.
| Daniel Traylor
While the massive power of the quake was obvious along the city streets, it could also be seen in a waterfront area of Wajima, which was transformed from a flat seaside walkway into an expanse of cracked concrete. Survivors spoke of experiencing a rolling movement during the quake, which was evident at the site.
| Daniel Traylor
To get to Wajima on Sunday, we made our way from Hakui, a city part-way up the Noto Peninsula, traveling alongside convoys of vehicles from fire departments and the Self-Defense Forces. As of this past weekend, only one passable route was available to make a final approach into Wajima. The further north we traveled, the more damage we began to see — including on the very roads we were traversing.
Sections of the roadway had totally collapsed, and others were overtaken by landslides, requiring one-way traffic or detours through narrow side streets. At one spot, a car had been swallowed up by a ripped out section of the road.
Driving the route meant taking it extremely slow, as well as scanning ahead for crevasses of varying sizes and judging which part of the roadway was the safest bet.
| Kathleen Benoza
| Mark Thompson
| Mark Thompson
In Wajima, one group of volunteers has been focused on gathering supplies and making meals for victims in the area. With no running water, volunteers must sparingly use donated water supplies to wash the dishes used for cooking.
| Daniel Traylor
| Daniel Traylor
Over the weekend, the presence of the Self-Defense Forces could be easily seen, with convoys of SDF vehicles driving into the quake zone and Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels docking to provide relief by sea, including one in Wajima near the market on Sunday. A total of 6,300 troops from the SDF have been sent to help with relief operations in Ishikawa, the Defense Ministry has said.
| Daniel Traylor
On Saturday, we visited Sunlife Plaza in Nanao, which had been transformed into a large-scale evacuation shelter that at the time was home to about 600 people. As of Monday, over 28,000 people are living in about 400 shelters across Ishikawa Prefecture, according to the authorities.
Volunteers are involved in a variety of tasks, including preparing bento lunches and sorting a steady stream of donated supplies, which have poured in from around the country. Some centers are facing shortages, but others have been overwhelmed with too many supplies — or food and drinks that have expired.
| Daniel Traylor
| Kathleen Benoza
With public water services taken out by the quake in many areas, the authorities have mobilized to deliver supplies to residents and evacuation centers. The effort included representatives from the Fukushima Prefecture city of Minamisoma, who we saw filling up a water tank at Sunlife Plaza on Saturday. Minamisoma, which was among the hardest-hit areas in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, sent a tanker truck to carry relief water brought in on a Self-Defense Forces ship.
| Daniel Traylor
Many residents who have been able to remain in their homes are making due without running water, so they are relying on distribution points like this one in Nanao, which we came across on Monday. Fire departments from across the country have joined the effort to provide relief, including a team from the Ibaraki Prefecture city of Ryugasaki. One woman who was struggling to carry big containers of water to her car said that initially the distribution of fresh water was chaotic but that over time, it was becoming more organized.
| Kathleen Benoza
| Daniel Traylor
Amid the scenes of destruction, we also heard personal stories. During a visit to a shelter at Nakajima Elementary School in Nanao, reporter Kathleen Benoza spoke to a group of evacuees gathered around a gas stove on a snowy day in the region. At the end of the interview, Benoza shared an emotional moment with one of the evacuees. The 82-year-old was among a few evacuees we spoke to who shed tears as they recalled their experience of the quake or their personal losses, while others said they hadn’t cried — being too focused on the chaotic aftermath of the quake or trying to maintain their resolve.
| Daniel Traylor