RELIEF EFFORTS:TWO-THIRDS OF the way between Tokyo and the tsunami-hit city of Sendai, the town of Motomiya has become a staging point for recovery efforts as Japan struggles to rebound from the worst earthquake in its history.
The town of about 30,000 is an evacuation centre for people fleeing the area around the damaged nuclear reactor in Fukushima Prefecture. About 150 people, for example, have been sleeping in the town’s high school. Its only open gas station is a major refuelling stop for the convoys of Self-Defence Force troops, police, fire and telephone servicemen as they travel 350km (217 miles) north between Tokyo and Sendai along the Tohoku Expressway.
In Motomiya and the surrounding area, the earthquake broke up footpaths, cracked roads and caused localised flooding, while leaving most buildings intact. Twelve miles to the south, a factory owned by Hiyashi Seiki Sezo collapsed in the magnitude 9 quake and will be demolished. No one was injured, a local official said. “Fukushima has already started recovering so I hope we can do the same for the north,” said Hiroyuki Kanno (33), an employee of Tohoku Electric Power Co who stopped in Motomiya on the way to deliver helicopter fuel for relief efforts.
At the Idemitsu Kosan Co gas station, a steady stream of military trucks, uninterrupted for almost an hour, was clearly visible on the highway heading north.
As residents queued for most of the morning to buy a 10-litre ration of petrol, a fleet of more than 20 fire trucks, ambulances and NTT DoCoMo Inc repair vans pulled in for food and refuelling. Petrol is not rationed for crews working on recovery efforts.
Residents were handing out rice balls to rescue workers.
One woman, who declined to be identified, said all the people in the area were victims of the earthquake, and the food was a gesture of gratitude to the relief workers. While the expressway is reserved for rescue efforts, Motomiya is connected to the country’s south by the Route 4 national highway. The cracked road is receiving patchwork repairs, while at least one bridge is being supported by hydraulic joists.
Mr Kanno, the Tohoku Electric worker, said the people of this region were fortunate compared to many others. His wife's family remains out of contact in Kesennuma, north of Sendai. "I will have to leave the family to my wife and focus on this mission, to bring essential utilities to these areas," he said. – ( Washington Postservice, Bloomberg)