Volunteer Activities Fully Start in Quake-Hit Kumamoto

Hikawa, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 8 (Jiji Press)--Volunteers have fully started their activities in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto, which was hit hard by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake late last month.

While the prefectural government initially called on volunteers to refrain from visiting affected areas as necessary preparations had not yet been made, all 11 municipalities seeking volunteers had begun procedures to accept such supporters by Thursday. Volunteer centers have been set up in the 11 towns and villages.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, 1,751 people were working as volunteers in afflicted areas.

Of the 11 municipalities, the town of Hikawa, where the July 28 earthquake registered 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, began Saturday to accept volunteers from in and outside of the prefecture.

"I came here to help affected people feel relieved, even a little," said Kentaro Abe, a 53-year-old corporate worker from the Kumamoto town of Kikuyo. He helped remove disaster debris from a house in the town, where a cupboard and furniture had been scattered, amid scorching heat.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]