Ibaraki, Japan updates

Disasters bring havoc and destruction. Yet, the best of people also shine brightest during these challenging moments.

The response to the call for volunteers, assistance, and donation has been overwhelming and heartwarming. From the time the floods and landslides happened, so many responded to help in their own way.

The immediate need was for safe places to evacuate to. The police went around to advise people to move. Alerts were sounded off to inform people about the situation and to advise those affected what to do and where to go. Evacuation centers, long prepared and equipped to handle the immediate urgent needs for evacuees, have been designated all throughout Japan.

Then, aside from government efforts, volunteer groups started to make their calls for donations and assistance via FB and other media. The immediate needs were for sleeping mats (futons) and mattresses, milk and diapers for babies, and drinking water.

Not all affected went to the evacuation centers. Some preferred to stay with relatives and friends. Others took refuge in churches.

The needs of the affected varied, depending on the stage of post-disaster they were in. While others were still in the immediate needs-level (during and while at the evacuation centers), others have started to return home to start to reconstruct and rebuild their houses and their lives after the floods and landslides.

Their needs at this stage included requests for used but functioning appliances (for example, rice cooker, washing machines) but as electricity and water supply have not yet been completely restored in many areas, especially in Joso, in Ibaraki, many have resorted to pooling and sharing resources with those who have these appliances, water, and electricity in their homes.

Volunteers and groups have also been regularly sending information about who needs what where throughout the affected areas. Everyone in the FB network for Tsukuba residents rejoiced upon receiving the happy news that 14, out of the 15 reported missing have been located, alive and safe, in various evacuation centers. Latest newspaper report confirmed all 15 have been found! As of this Tuesday, the same newspaper report mentioned that about 600 officers and other volunteers were continuing their search and rescue operation throughout Ibaraki.

A number of FB posts also gratefully, mention the needs of our Filipinos in evacuation centers and the response has been heartwarming. Thank God for so many kind, generous people all over. The Tsukuba residents are very blessed to have Ms. Shaney Crawford who, after the destructive 3/11 earthquake/tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan, immediately created the FB group to give advice for Tsukuba residents. This FB site continues to be a lifeline of timely, useful information and advice for us all, especially the foreign community. The site is still busily buzzing with news, advice, and alerts, this time, with so many posts about those affected by the latest floods and landslides in Ibaraki, where Tsukuba is situated as well.

Our Embassy officials and staff have visited the affected Filipinos twice, last Sunday and last Tuesday at Joso Catholic Church where relief efforts and assistance are coordinated by Filipino Sr. Maria Carmen Segovia, Brazilian Sister Consola and their very active pool of volunteers. Consul General Tirol also met with the Vice Mayor of Joso City to extend the official request for English information and alerts for affected foreigners in this city and also to make the special request for information about how many and who are the affected Filipinos in the area.

Websites are available in Japanese showing information about how many evacuees are in various centers. However, the data is not disaggregated by nationality. Another problem is there are foreigners, including Filipinos, who are married to Japanese and have adopted their spouse's Japanese family names. This system makes it more difficult to ascertain the nationality of the evacuees in the centers.

Still, efforts are now underway to draw up a reliable, comprehensive database of all who have been affected so that their needs can be responded to appropriately and promptly. The database also hopes to include all types and sources of assistance given to whom among the affected to serve as transparent , coordinated overview and guide to match those in need with those who wish to assist and to ensure all affected and needy are responded to as soon as possible.

A step at a time. From immediate needs for protection and safety, the affected and needy are going through various post-disaster stages, with a number now in the restoration, rebuilding, reconstruction phase. With short-term needs met or being met, although still with much challenges, now everyone is joining hands to allow those affected to move on, reconstruct their lives, on a sustainable basis.