No.85 Dispatch of Staff to the Disaster Area of the July 2018 Heavy Rain (Western Japan Flood Disaster)

There is only a little time left this year. I can only hope it has been a good year for everyone, but looking back across the country, unfortunately, this year was also a year when natural disasters wreaked havoc.
The earthquake in the northern part of Osaka Prefecture on June 18, 2018, the heavy rain disaster in western Japan in early July 2018, the flooding centered around Osaka due to Typhoon No. 21 on September 5, 2018, the unprecedented power blackout caused by the Iburi Eastern Earthquake in Hokkaido on the 6th, and the damage from fallen trees in Inagi City during Typhoon No. 24 on September 30, 2018.
The city has convened disaster information liaison meetings each time a disaster occurs to collect information and has provided as much support as possible. During the earthquake in northern Osaka Prefecture, we sent blue sheets to Hirakata City, and during the heavy rains in July 2018 (Western Japan Flood Disaster), we sent sandbags and bottled water as support supplies to Soja City in Okayama Prefecture.
In response to large-scale natural disasters, measures have been taken by the nation each time we have experienced events such as the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake, and the Great East Japan Earthquake. While a system for wide-area support has been developed to compile disaster situations at the prefectural level and request assistance from other prefectures through the national government, the reality is that these systems do not function immediately in the chaos immediately following a disaster.
The importance of direct support through connections between municipalities has been recognized for some time, and in Inagi City, mutual support agreements have been concluded with Ozora Town in Hokkaido, Nozawa Onsen Village in Nagano Prefecture, and Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture. Additionally, utilizing the mutual support system within the National Association of Young Mayors (alumni association), to which the Mayor of Inagi City belongs, we have been practicing mutual support in the spirit of helping each other in times of need.

In this context, in June of this year, Mayor Tatsuya of Soma City was appointed as the President of the National Mayors' Association, and he proposed strengthening disaster prevention measures under the new system. On August 30, 2018, the Special Committee on Disaster Prevention Measures was established. I was appointed as a committee member by Mayor Tatsuya and was elected as Vice Chairperson under the Chairperson, Mayor Onishi of Kumamoto City, at the first committee meeting.
This special committee is working to establish a support system for the acute phase immediately after a disaster occurs, and has decided to provide assistance through collaboration among the branches of the National Mayors' Association, even in the immediate aftermath of a disaster when support from the national and prefectural governments is not yet in place.
Recently, there was a request from the National Mayors' Association for personnel dispatch to support the disaster-stricken areas affected by the heavy rain disaster in western Japan in July 2018. The city responded that it could dispatch one person, and it was decided to send the personnel to Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture, where the matching of various conditions was established. The period is from December 1 of this year to the end of March next year, for a total of four months, and the duties will include administrative tasks such as applying for subsidies for disaster waste disposal projects, as well as on-site work related to the demolition and removal of damaged houses and the disposal of demolition debris. The dispatched staff member has been informed to carry out their duties without injury, and they were sent off recently.
In order to continue promoting a safe and secure Community Development, disaster prevention and mitigation measures are essential, and we will work diligently on this.
I pray that next year will be a peaceful and safe year for everyone.