KAMAISHI, Iwate Prefecture--The number of volunteers in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami fell from a peak of 54,000 a week in May to 7,000 a week in November, the Japan National Council of Social Welfare said.
KAMAISHI, Iwate Prefecture--The number of volunteers in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami fell from a peak of 54,000 a week in May to 7,000 a week in November, the Japan National Council of Social Welfare said. A volunteer group working in Tono, Iwate Prefecture, is talking with local officials and residents about what needs to be done. But members said the shortage of volunteers has made planning difficult."We can visit only one spot a day at the most with our small team," said Koji Funada, 43, a team leader in the Tono Magokoro Network (Tono city disaster relief network). "Much debris still remains. We need more volunteers." The network has been dispatching volunteers to disaster-hit areas in the prefecture, including the hard-hit Hakozaki district in Kamaishi. The volunteers remove debris and dirt while visiting evacuees at their temporary homes.They said they will continue to work despite the winter cold.