Japan (MNN) — Just weeks after the super Typhoon Hagibis, another storm raced in over the weekend: Typhoon Bualoi. Robert Adair of Asian Access says the area is still in recovery mode.
Japan Suffers Two Typhoons
Mudslide typical of hurricane aftermath. Representative photo only. (Photo courtesy of Asian Access/Joe Handley/FB)
For those who experienced the triple disaster in 2011, the typhoons have dredged up familiar fears. Adair says that visually, the aftermath looks the same. The remnants of the storms show the water’s pathways, and people’s belongings are scattered in the open.
Many people have lost their homes and are living in evacuation shelters. Others are trying to salvage their homes and figure out next steps. Last Monday, Asian Access started working with churches and volunteers in one of the affected regions to help with cleanup and offer relief support.
“The churches we’re working with, one of the things they’re trying to do is kind of get resources to the people that need them. And so, one of the holes in the system [that] they’ve found is that people that are actually out of their homes and in evacuation centers, the government’s doing a really good job of making sure they get the food, water supplies that they need.”
Asian Access Offers Help
“But those folks who lost their homes and residences were damaged, inundated by water, but they are still able to reside there, those folks aren’t necessarily getting the relief supplies they need,” Adair explains.
Representative photo. (Photo courtesy of Asian Access/Joe Handley/FB)
“And so, trying to look at how do we, through the relationships we have, through folks we know that live in those communities, how can we get water, food, blankets, other supplies directly to those people.”
Though the damage is mostly focused in northern and southern Japan, there are pockets of extreme devastation scattered throughout the country. One challenge Asian Access faces in relief efforts is its lack of relationships in all the areas the organization is trying to help.
Next Steps
Pray for relief efforts, the churches Asian Access is working with, and the first responders to have the capacity to treat and provide relief aid to those in need.
“I think people can be praying that there will be opportunities in these small towns, in these rural villages for the people that are affected by the disaster to encounter Christ and His Church. That the Christians that are trying to respond to the disaster will find kind of creative and appropriate ways to engage these communities that we haven’t had a presence of a relationship in,” Adair says.
To find more ways to come alongside Asian Access and its work in Japan, click here.
Header photo is representative.
Header photo credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team
