Himi City Council of Social Welfare 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Emergency Support Fund

Himi City Council of Social Welfare 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Emergency Support Fund

The Himi City Council of Social Welfare has begun accepting applications for support funds to provide assistance to victims of the earthquake disaster that occurred on New Year’s Day, 2024, as well as to support disaster relief volunteers and relief activities for victims in Himi City. The support fund” will be one of the most important funds needed by the council at this time, as it will allow the council to provide flexible support, including procurement of supplies, resources, materials, and human resources necessary for relief activities.

We ask for your support in helping those affected by the disaster to get back to their daily lives as soon as possible.

Click here for the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Emergency Relief Fund donation form.

• click here →　donate

*This donation can be recorded as a tax-deductible expense. Receipt required at time of application.

For international donations, we will send you an email with an image of the receipt attached.

1．About damage in Himi City

As of 15:00 on January 6th , 9 people in Himi City have required ambulance transport due to injuries sustained during the earthquake on January 1st. The number of people who have applied for disaster victim certification due to damage to houses is 1,031. There were 16 homes completely destroyed and 22 partially destroyed, leaving many households in need of major home repairs. 41 people are still evacuated to three evacuation centers in the city, in addition to those who are forced to sleep in their cars, relatives’ homes or undesignated facilities because they can’t sleep in their damaged homes. There are also many people who have evacuated to other areas. Many households are without water, and 5,100 households are unable to access tap water. Although some public baths in the town have reopened, some people have not taken a bath since the earthquake. Some people, including the elderly and people with disabilities, are not receiving enough information on food assistance, etc., and are unable to eat, and some are unable to go to water stations on their own and take water home.  Many welfare facilities have no prospects for resuming their services, although there are many people in need of care and people with disabilities who are unable to receive support for daily living such as eating, bathing, and using the bathroom.

2．Why does the Social Welfare Council conduct support activities?

The Social Welfare Council is a private welfare organization with a 70-year history that provides swift aid to places in crisis following a natural disaster. This support is available to everyone from children to seniors. We have tackled these local welfare issues by utilizing the characteristics of both our many years of experience in working with government and our flexibility as a private organization in order to improve the local community.

Additionally, in the event of a major disaster such as this one, we will set up a Disaster Relief Volunteer Center and accept volunteers from all over the country to help those affected return to their daily lives.

At the Disaster Relief Volunteer Center, disaster experts and others who have been involved in the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Kumamoto Earthquake, and other disasters in various regions are called in from among the approximately 140,000 employees from around 1,800 councils of social welfare nationwide. The center will then help until there are almost no more victims in need of assistance, while quickly cleaning up and clearing away damaged houses, providing food assistance, housing assistance, financial assistance, and confirming the safety of vulnerable disaster victims.

３．Main contents of support activities and how support funds will be used.

The Himi City Social Welfare Council will first set up a Disaster Volunteer Center, which will visit disaster victims’ homes to assess their needs. Next, disaster relief volunteers from various regions will be accepted and dispatched to the affected households to provide support activities such as cleaning up and tidying houses. Furniture and parts of buildings have been scattered by the earthquake, and some parts of the premises have also been damaged by liquefaction. In order to deal with such damage, we purchased shovels, picks, chainsaws, brooms, buckets, etc. Disaster relief volunteers will bring these and provide support to each household.

In addition, in order to prevent disaster-affected elderly people or people with disabilities,  from being left alone and isolated, and to prevent disaster-related deaths and secondary damage after the disaster, we plan to aid in the establishment of local consultation centers and community activities in  Himi City.

<Use of support funds>

① Disaster relief volunteer center activity expenses

・Expenses for survey activities to assess needs in the affected situation

・Purchase of materials (shovels, pickaxes, chainsaws, brooms, buckets, etc.) necessary for disaster relief volunteers to visit victims’ homes to clean up, and perform other support activities.

・Vehicle rental costs for transporting disaster relief volunteers to the disaster site

・Cost for installing staff to direct traffic in the parking lot where disaster volunteers who came to provide support park their cars.

・Staff expenses for disaster relief volunteer center operations.

② Support activities for disaster victims living in the community.

・Expenses for setting up consulting center and community activities to prevent loneliness and isolation among disaster victims

・Expenses for creating a place for infants, the elderly, and others to stay while disaster victims work on recovery and reconstruction.

*Surplus support funds will be used for ongoing support activities for disaster victims after the disaster relief volunteer Center closes and for the restoration of damaged facilities.

Ｑ．What is the difference between support funds and donation funds?

Support funds are intended to support welfare organizations such as NPOs and NGO working in the affected areas. A wide range of support can be provided, including activities to support disaster victims and the procurement of relief supplies and food.

Donation funds are intended to be support the victims of the disaster. It is not used for activities, relief supplies, and food aid. Also, it may take time for the donation to reach the affected people.