Casualties and Damages

Woes mount for tsunami survivors

By Chang-Ran Kim (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-18 07:53

Ayumi Yamazaki, 21, is worried that her 18-month-old daughter is not getting enough to eat. "We rarely get to eat rice, so I'm a little concerned," she said. "But it's better than not eating at all."

Math teacher Naoshi Moriya, volunteering at the evacuation site's make-shift logistics office, said he's worried that it is only a matter of time before food runs out.

Despite the privations there's a sense of order in the evacuation center. In late afternoon, a neat queue forms in one hallway of the refuge shelter for men under 60 to collect clean underwear sent in through charity.

"Long-sleeve undergarments are reserved for the elderly," a volunteer who lost her home says, apologizing to one man.

Outside help is slowly and sparingly arriving.

A Self-Defense Forces truck carrying a fresh supply of water arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and two Red Cross teams arrived for the first time to treat patients.

Two soldiers picked through the rubble and placed personal effects such as photographs in a box so that survivors might be able to reclaim cherished memories.

"They belong to someone," said one. "You never know."

Reuters