NAGOYA--As far as Nestor Puno is concerned, last year's Great East Japan Earthquake--which left an estimated 20,000 people dead or missing--was a trial run for a disaster of much greater magnitude.
NAGOYA--As far as Nestor Puno is concerned, last year's Great East Japan Earthquake--which left an estimated 20,000 people dead or missing--was a trial run for a disaster of much greater magnitude.
The Filipino, who lives and works in this city of more than 2.2 million, is trying to rally volunteers in the Philippine community in case a Tokai earthquake strikes.
A government panel has estimated that more than 300,000 people would die if a Tokai earthquake hits this industrial hub, which, experts say, is likely to happen within 30 years.
Puno, 46, says disaster volunteers are desperately needed in the Tokai region, where some 40,000 Filipinos live. For comparison, about 4,000 Filipinos lived in the three hardest-hit prefectures in the Tohoku region when the March 11, 2011, magnitude-9.0 earthquake and towering tsunami struck.
Puno represents a Nagoya-based Filipino migrant workers' organization. He was inundated with calls for days afterward.
"I can't get in touch with relatives in the disaster-stricken areas," was a common refrain.
Puno moved fast to assist Filipinos struggling in the aftermath of the catastrophe.
He and leaders of other Philippine groups in Aichi Prefecture jointly established an organization to support devastated areas.
They turned to the Facebook online social networking service site to list missing Philippine victims of the earthquake and to exchange information.
In April, Puno tried to deliver relief supplies to stricken areas, where he confronted firsthand the problems facing many non-Japanese survivors.
Most Filipinos did not go to evacuation centers because of language difficulties. Instead, they moved to houses of their friends and other families from the same country.
Puno said some relief supplies, including food, did not reach some evacuees.
Filipinos who took refuge at evacuation centers told him they wanted to leave because they could not communicate in Japanese.
In the rebuilding efforts that followed, many Filipinos fell through the safety net.
While Japanese who had lost their jobs or their homes began the process to receive compensation, most Philippine residents were unable to do so because there were unfamiliar Japanese terms such as "risai shomei" (disaster victim certificate) in documents.
Puno held free consultations for Filipinos from September 2011 to March this year in Fukushima and Sendai. He also requested that city officials be present to explain how residents could apply for official assistance.
While working to assist the Tohoku region, Puno keenly felt the need for greater preparedness in the event of a disastrous Tokai earthquake.
As of last December, some 4,000 Filipinos lived in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, while 10 times that number resided in Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures, according to the Justice Ministry.
Puno initiated a project to nurture volunteers for the Philippine community in times of disaster.
An emergency care workshop held in May attracted 14 Filipinos from Nagoya and Ichinomiya, also in Aichi Prefecture.
Puno said he intends to expand the activity to Mie and Gifu prefectures.
"I want to work closely with other organizations to acquire know-how that could be useful in a disaster," Puno said.
International exchange organizations in the Tokai region are gearing up to provide volunteer interpreters for foreign residents in case disaster strikes. In Aichi, Mie and Gifu prefectures, as well as in Nagoya, these groups have secured personnel to translate disaster information at government offices or listen to people's problems in such an event.
Setting aside English speaking volunteers, those who speak Tagalog, Spanish and Portuguese are also being sought.
More than 500 volunteers have been listed as emergency interpreters in the three prefectures, and at the Nagoya International Center.
An official at the Nagoya International Center, however, is worried that there aren't enough volunteers.
"When a disaster strikes, volunteers could be affected too, which would limit their activities," the official said. "We need to find more volunteers."
The organizations signed a mutual cooperation agreement in September 2011 with similar groups in Shizuoka Prefecture and Shizuoka and Hamamatsu, both in the same prefecture, as well as with entities in Toyama, Ishikawa and Fukui prefectures in the Hokuriku region.
According to the agreement, Hokuriku groups will arrange and dispatch volunteers in case of a Tokai earthquake.
International exchange organizations in the Tokai and Hokuriku regions met in January for the first time in Nagoya to fine-tune likely problems they would encounter.
They found that non-local volunteers could find themselves in unfamiliar areas where they don't know how to get around, according to a participant.
An official at the Aichi International Association said, "We will continue with the training sessions so we can cope with whatever situations crop up."