Photo/Illutration Evacuees from the Jan. 1 earthquake stay in a vinyl greenhouse in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 8. (Masaru Komiyaji)

KANAZAWA—Toshie Takenaka has lost her appetite. She sleeps while wrapped in layers of blankets, with only a thin vinyl sheet separating her from the winter elements.

Toshie, a 94-year-old woman with a pre-existing heart condition, has been living in a greenhouse in Wajima city since the New Year’s Day earthquake destroyed her home.

Her daughter, Kikue, 73, fears time is running out for her mother in such conditions.

As of Jan. 9, around 26,200 disaster survivors were taking refuge at 404 designated evacuation facilities in Ishikawa Prefecture that often lack water and electricity.

But many others, including the Takenakas, are stuck in even harsher conditions at makeshift shelters.

Kikue plans to take Toshie to a relative’s house in Wajima that survived the temblor.

“I cannot make her sleep out in the cold like this any longer,” she said. “I hope government officials will provide a place where elderly people can sleep warm as a bare minimum.”

The prefectural government is working to move evacuees from such impromptu facilities as well as designated centers to safer and more comfortable accommodations.

Some victims have been relocated, but much more needs to be done, given the sheer scale of the disaster.

After the Jan. 1 quake, Kikue gave up on moving into a nearby designated evacuation center because it was already crowded.

She contacted the city office to find a medical institution that would accept Toshie.

But city officials could only tell her to call an ambulance if the worst happens to her mother.

As of Jan. 9, Kikue and Toshie were among around 20 people living in the greenhouse, about 2 kilometers southwest of the Wajima city office.

In the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on Jan. 8, a new type of evacuation center was opened at the Ishikawa Sports Center. It has been designed to accommodate about 500 residents, mainly elderly people, those with disabilities and families with children of preschool age.

Residents, mainly from evacuation centers in disaster areas, are expected to stay there until they can move into hotels and inns arranged for by the prefectural government.

About 230 tents, each about 4 square meters, are set up in the main arena of the sports center. A nurse is on standby around the clock.

Eleven evacuees arrived at the facility on Jan. 9.

Kanako Taniuchi, 42, came from an evacuation center in Wajima with her husband and three children.

“We could not keep warm over there,” she said. “We were worried because we did not know when running water would return or when the roads would be repaired.”

The prefectural government secured rooms in 168 hotels and inns within the prefecture, where about 5,000 people can stay daily, as of Jan. 9.

Some disaster victims have found comfort in such “secondary evacuation centers.”

Toshimitsu Matoba, 84, and his wife, Kazuko, 81, settled in Kitahachi, a ryokan inn in the Awazu Onsen hot spring resort in Komatsu in southern Ishikawa Prefecture.

The couple were stranded in a district of Wajima due to a landslide caused by the quake.

“We had our first good sleep in days in a place where we do not have to worry about aftershocks,” Matoba said. “We are gradually feeling peace of mind.”

Fourteen others were staying at Kitahachi as of Jan. 9.

A total of 200 people from 85 households had evacuated to six facilities in Komatsu by Jan. 8.

About 20 public health nurses are helping them deal with trauma from the quake and measuring their blood pressure.

The prefectural government plans to help evacuees eventually settle in public housing and temporary accommodations in and outside the prefecture.

(This article was written by Hiyori Uchiumi, Shun Nakamura, Keitaro Nishizaki and Juntaro Oka.)

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