Photo/Illutration Shoei Torige, right, explains about disaster relief money to an earthquake survivor at the Suzu city government office in Ishikawa Prefecture on Feb. 28. (Shun Yoshimura)

SUZU, Ishikawa Prefecture--Like many local government workers, Shoei Torige spent a hectic two months after a powerful earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day.

The 25-year-old decided to move to an elementary school designated as an evacuation center and commuted to the Suzu city government office from there.

He used to live with his parents and grandparents and drive about 15 minutes to the workplace. His home did not collapse, but the magnitude-7.6 temblor left the road full of cracks.

Many employees of quake-hit municipalities in Ishikawa Prefecture put in exceptionally long work hours responding to the disaster, particularly in January.

In Wajima, for example, about 77 percent, or 167, of the city government’s 218 regular administrative employees, excluding those in managerial positions, clocked more than 100 hours in overtime in January.

The average overtime came to about 148 hours, well above the 100-hour threshold that labor authorities use as a guide to judge whether long working hours caused “karoshi,” or death from overwork.

The town of Anamizu has yet to tally work-hour records, but a representative said roughly 80 to 90 percent of its employees probably worked for more than 100 hours in overtime in January.

The city of Nanao said about 27 percent, or 128, of its 471 employees worked for more than 100 hours in overtime and the average overtime was about 84 hours.

The town of Noto said the overtime exceeded 100 hours in January for a “considerable number” of its employees.

While Suzu officials are still calculating working hours, an official said employees worked “in an abnormal manner” because almost all were unable to take a day off until mid-January.

Torige, who worked in the city assembly’s secretariat, was no exception.

He was temporarily reassigned to help colleagues in the general affairs department handle calls from residents desperate to confirm the safety of family members and relatives.

Telephones did not stop ringing. He was yelled at by some of those on the other end of the line over his responses.

At one time, he worked for 12 days in a row without a day off.

When he returned to the evacuation center after the day’s work, Torige would eat a distributed meal with evacuees and slept on a bed made of cardboard boxes for about a month.

Taking a day off at the end of January, he visited a public bathhouse in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa and soaked in a warm tub for the first time in about a month.

He said he felt the warmth spreading both through his heart and body and he was almost brought to tears.

Torige was scheduled to leave the evacuation center March 3 and return to his home for the first time in about two months.

“I have really had a tough time over the past two months,” he said. “But I believe I was able to do what little I could for Suzu.”

Related News