PBV’s Relief Efforts in Noto Continue: Public Bath Project
Wajima’s morning market, once a tourist attraction, was transformed by the fire and still looks painful even five months later.
As of May 28, 112 people were dead and 3 were missing in Wajima, and more than 14,000 houses were either completely or partially destroyed, left on the ground waiting to be demolished or cleared. Temporary housing has been built and evacuees have begun living in new places, but many of these residents do not know what to do with the houses and property left behind. Some evacuees commute to their former residences to clear the area and look for their belongings.
Since the current temporary housing is not sufficient and new units are still under construction, quite a few people had no choice but to live in their original homes which have no water supplies back yet.
After the earthquake, the Japanese Self-Defence Forces set up temporary bathing facilities at five locations in Wajima. However, as water supply began to be restored, they gradually withdrew these facilities, and recently the last facility in Machino Town has been taken out of service. However, demand for public baths remains high in the affected areas of Wajima, as there are still many households without access to running water.
In light of this situation, PBV constructed a temporary public bath facility in Machino Town, which began service on May 30th and local residents, volunteers and constructors are now using on a daily basis. This indicates that the area is in need of continuous support and that it will still take some time for people to get back to their daily lives.
In addition to changing and bathing areas, we created a rest lounge where visitors could chat, exchange information about their situation, and encourage each other. In fact, conversations in this lounge helped us to deepen understanding of the homebound evacuees. We hope that this facility will help prevent home evacuees from becoming isolated and provide a place to socialize.
We seek your continued support for our relief efforts in the Noto peninsula.