Niigata remembers quake
Niigata remembers quake / 1 year on, many residents struggling to rebuildtheir livesTatsuo Shingai and Masahiro Sakita / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff WritersA landslide still covers part of a prefectural road in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, where Yuta Minagawa, 3, who was buried in a minivan with his mother and elder sister when the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake hit, was miraculously rescued.Sunday marks the first anniversary of the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake, but life in one region in the prefecture that suffered severe damage in the quake is in no way close to returning to normal. Currently, about 9,000 residents still live in temporary housing in Yamakoshimura, and only 20 percent of sections of road damaged in the quake, which killed 51 people, have been repaired. In some districts of the village, which has since merged with Nagaoka, the evacuation orders imposed on residents have been lifted and the demolition of damaged houses is gearing up. However, many residents are still facing the daunting task of starting from scratch, and many of those people are elderly. Demolition work in the Yamakoshimura area started in August. Up to 70 percent of the cost of such work on a house will be paid by the central government, depending on the extent of the damage. In the past 2-1/2 months, more than 130 applications for the financial assistance have been filed with the Nagaoka municipal government. Tasaku Azegami, 62, started to demolish his home in the Naranoki district in the area on Oct. 12. "Whenever I returned to the village, I was so sad to see the damaged house," Azegami said. Azegami had lived there with his wife, Tomiko, 58, and his mother, Toi, 89. After retiring from the Yamakoshimura municipal government, for which he worked as a public servant, Azegami grew rice and vegetables near his home. His land was severely damaged in the quake, which measured a maximum of 7 on the Japanese intensity scale, as it destroyed the irrigation system. Azegami hopes to build another house in the area, but he has not decided where. Masao Ikarashi, 70, and his wife, Kiso, 63, have demolished their home in the Iketani district, but have no prospect of returning to the district as every house there was destroyed. The two want to return because Masao's health has deteriorated. "I wish the [Nagaoka] municipal government would provide us with housing," Kiso said. As all of its residents have relocated, the Kigomo district in the Yamakoshimura area of the city is facing a difficult issue. Local authorities are planning to construct a wall to prevent a dam created by mudslides in the quake from collapsing. But building the wall will mean some of the houses will be immersed in water. Under the plan, the central government will compensate the owners of such houses. The government also will start designing houses to be built by the spring of 2007. Residents whose houses will not be immersed by the dam's reinforcement, however, will not receive government compensation, so it is possible that this action may create discord in the community. The majority of residents who lost their homes in the quake are elderly citizens, which is hampering rebuilding. The law to help affected residents after a natural disaster stipulates the provision of up to 3 million yen to cover the demolition of damaged property. But no legislation stipulates government assistance for rebuilding. Therefore, the Nagaoka city government is working on ways to rebuild houses at a low cost. By purchasing housing construction materials in bulk, among other measures, the city aims to reduce construction costs to 500,000 yen per tsubo, or 3.3 square meters--about 10 percent lower than the average cost in the prefecture. According to the government, this move will allow it to build a house for less than 10 million yen, including installing antisnow features. The Nagaoka city government also started building public housing in July for people who lost their homes in the disaster. So far, apartment complexes to accommodate 120 households are being planned, and 42 units will be opened to residents in Kaminozokimachi in the city in April. But as yet, there is still no concrete plan to provide public housing for all residents who have lost their homes in the Yamakoshimura area, and many are wondering whether they should build their own or wait for the Nagaoka municipal government to make a decision. The quake cut off many roads in the mountainous area. Delays in rebuilding and reopening roads are hindering people's ability to regain their livelihoods in the quake-hit area. According to the Niigata prefectural government and the Construction and Transport Ministry bureau responsible for reconstructing infrastructure in the Hokuriku region, 2,753 points on national, prefectural and municipal roads were damaged by landslides and earth movements and require repair. Reconstruction work has started at 2,356, or 85.6 percent, of these locations, and the work has been completed at only 584 places, or 21.2 percent. In addition, roads remain closed at 47 places. An official of the Niigata prefectural government's road management section said, "At the earliest, the roads will be reopened before the snow arrives next year." The official added that the process was taking so long because reconstruction work in steep mountainous areas could only proceed from the bottom of the mountain and work upwards. An Ojiya city official said: "Because roads haven't been rebuilt, we can't lift our evacuation orders or advisories. Even if the advisories are lifted and residents could return home, it's impossible to live there unless snow is removed from the roads during winter. Therefore, roads that can accommodate snow plows need to be built." An official of the Koshi branch of Nagaoka said, "The roads must be rebuilt before anything else, otherwise it's impossible to repair other infrastructure." === Rivers still blocked The 3,791 landslides set off in the prefecture by the quake shifted about 100 million cubic meters of soil and rock--enough to fill Tokyo Dome 80 times. A considerable portion of this soil was sent tumbling into waterways, resulting in 52 "dams" blocking rivers in the region. One of the largest such dams is in a river in the Higashitakezawa district, where about 1.29 million cubic meters of debris piled up to form a dam about 30 meters high. The central government plans to leave the dam as it is because of the exorbitant expense required for such work. Water pooled behind the dam is draining away through a makeshift drainage ditch, but is still up to 15 meters deep at some points. Work has started on a barrier to prevent the debris from washing away and is expected to be completed by spring. The Nagaoka municipal government plans to transform debris that accumulated to form the dam into an "earthquake memorial park." === Residents hesitant to return Although the evacuation order issued for nearly 80 households in former Yamakoshimura was lifted in July, only 50 households have returned home so far. Some residents appear concerned about whether they can make a living if they return. One resident said, "Can we really lead a normal life here?" Another said, "Probably, less than half the residents will choose to return home." The second winter since the earthquake hit is just around the corner, and the area will be snowed in until May. Will all the residents be able to return to their homes by September next year? The people have supported each other during this difficult time, but efforts to revive their lives will soon face a crucial stage. (Oct. 22, 2005)