Elmhurst volunteer in Japan describes tsunami’s ‘complete devastation’
By Susan Dibble
The Daily Herald recently interviewed Mark Dyer of Elmhurst, a response team member for ShelterBox International, a relief organization that sends volunteers and aid around the world to areas hit by natural and man-made disasters. The story ran on March 24, during the same week Dyer was deployed to Japan. The following is his e-mailed report on the conditions he is finding in that country.
Q. Where are you in Japan?
A. We are operating out the Sendai area (in northeast Japan, the closest large city to where the earthquake and tsunami hit), working in different communities and areas up and down the coast. We#146;ve established seven major distribution points and then are working outward from there. We also have two other teams working out of the Iwate Prefecture north of us.
Q. What are you doing?
A. We are distributing ShelterBoxes to disaster areas and educating people on how to set up tents and use the equipment in the boxes. In the immediate days after the event, most of the victims have been living in evacuation centers where there is food, water and shelter, as the weather is still quite cold (32 to 45 degrees).
They are now starting to return to their property and begin the tasks of rebuilding, so we are moving them out into tented shelters.
Q. How are the Japanese people responding to their situation and to you and the other ShelterBox volunteers?
A. They are extremely happy we are here, and trying to help. They are also extremely cooperative with us. As a country, Japan is very well organized and prepared for disaster. The speed of their relief agencies and government has been amazing. Japanese culture does not have a history of tents, so many people are really quite amazed at how nice and comfortable the shelters are.
Q. Do you have any concerns about your own safety?
A. Absolutely no concerns about our personal safety within Japan. The people are friendly, polite and quite happy to have us here. We have experienced aftershocks on a daily basis, with the highest being in the 6.1 range, but after seeing how the buildings survived a 8.9 quake, it is very reassuring about potential earthquake risk.
As far as the nuclear situation, we are taking proper precautions. Here in Sendai, my response team partner is a fireman who has nuclear safety and response training. We have monitors, safety gear, and medications available if the situation changes #8212; and are in direct contact with British nuclear authorities on the ground, who are monitoring the situation and giving us daily updates.
Q. Every disaster is different, but what strikes you most about this one?
A. It#146;s different because we are actually dealing with three different disasters: earthquake, tsunami and nuclear situation.
One of the most amazing things is the very minor damage caused by the actual earthquake. It is a testament to the building codes of Japan that there is very little damage to the buildings. A few cracked foundations, some broken windows and a few blue tarps to repair a roof, but other than that not a lot of damage.
The tsunami areas are undescribable #8212; just complete devastation. Huge concrete and steel buildings washed away. Steel I-beams ripped in half, boats, trucks, cars in truly unbelievable locations. Mounds of debris everywhere. From the perspective of the power of the event, it is by far the worst damage I#146;ve ever seen.
The nuclear situation is something we are watching and monitoring. More than anything (it) has just hampered the relief efforts with the exclusion zones and the interruption to local power sources.
Ÿ For more information on ShelterBox and its work, visit shelterboxusa.org.