No. 2 Earthquake disaster support and disaster prevention

(Published in the December 15, 2011 issue of Public Relations Inagi)

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Inagi City has been working on providing support to the affected areas and disaster prevention measures within the city. The main activities are as follows:
On June 1, 2011, we signed a "Mutual Support Agreement in Times of Disasters, etc." with Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture. Currently, we are providing support to Soma City, but if Inagi City were to suffer a disaster, we would be able to receive support from Soma City.
On July 25, 2011, we expanded our "Agreement on Disaster Cooperation" with the Kudan Association. Jinseien ( ) We have previously had permission to use the grounds of the "National Stadium" in emergencies, but with this latest expansion of the agreement, they will now be able to be used as an evacuation facility for approximately 100 people in an emergency.
Since March 13, 2011, we have been sending staff to disaster-stricken areas as direct support. Initially, we sent short-term staff to provide relief and help at evacuation shelters, based on requests from the city alone or the Tokyo Metropolitan Association of Mayors. As of the end of August 2011, we have sent 78 staff members, totaling 189. Since then, we have been sending staff for medium to long-term periods at the request of the Tokyo Metropolitan Association of Mayors and the National Association of Young Mayors to support reconstruction efforts. Currently, we are sending one staff member to Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture for seven months, and one staff member to Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture for two months. In addition, in November 2011, we sent staff from the Election Management Committee Secretariat for nine days at the request of Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, to help with the unified local elections that had been postponed in the disaster-stricken areas. We will continue to send staff as much as possible based on various requests for support.
As part of disaster prevention measures within the city, the June 2011 supplementary budget has increased funding for programs such as subsidies for furniture fall prevention devices, subsidies for earthquake resistance inspections of wooden houses, and subsidies for private home renovations (remodeling and earthquake resistance renovations).
We will continue to work on disaster prevention measures in order to create a safe and secure city.