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"The center, located in Chuo Ward, has made English-, Korean- and Chinese-language interpreters available, and visitors can make use of translation services in other languages via telephone, Etsushi Ito, a worker at the international exchange center, told The Japan Times over the phone on Saturday."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/16/national/kumamoto-international-center-offering-shelter-translation-services-foreigners/
-- Kirk
Tags: Gettinghelp, media
Kumamoto international center offering shelter, translation services for foreigners | The Japan...
Kumamoto City International Center in the city of Kumamoto is offering shelter for non-Japanese residents affected by the current swarm of earthquakes, wit

"Kumamoto city is located around 72 miles from Sendai nuclear power station, the only nuclear power plant which is currently in operation in Japan, operated by Kyushu Electric Power.
Last weekend, a group of writers and journalists joined forces to ask operators to immediately suspend operations at the Sendai plant in the aftermath of the earthquake, to avoid a repeat of the Fukushima crisis."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/18/japan-earthquakes-nuclear-regulator-refuses-to-shut-down-station/
Kirk
Japan earthquakes: Nuclear regulator refuses to shut down station on Kyushu Island
Japan’s atomic regulator will not shut down the nation’s only operating nuclear plant on earthquake-hit Kyushu island, despite concerns of a repeat of the Fukushima crisis. The Nuclear Regulation Authority’s (NRA) decision came to light as the race to rescue survivors of the deadly earthquakes in so…

Update on volunteer opportunities in Kumamoto City
The volunteer efforts that were originally planned for Saturday the 16th have been reopened!

＜Kumamoto Disaster Volunteers＞
１．Dates: Open from Friday, April 24th until whenever all needs have been fulfilled
２．Place: Hanabata Kouen （熊本市中央区花畑町7番10号
Is you're using the shiden, please get off either the A line or B line at Karashimachou
If coming by bus, please get off at the Kotsu Center stop
３．Time: 9am - 4pm
４．Activities: Helping the elderly or those otherwise physically incapable of cleaning up their homes.
Everyone will depart to the places to be cleaned after gathering at HQ (Hanabata Kouen)
５．Those coming by car should use the Kumamoto Goudou Chousha Atochi
(address: 熊本市中央区二の丸１番４号)
6. We will have you sign up for "volunteer insurance" at HQ
7. We ask that you bring the following:
Clothes that you're comfortable with getting dirty, work boots, water or other drinks for yourself, bento for lunch, towel, hat, mask, gloves, etc)
8．Contact: Please use the following numbers for inquiries
090-6653-1552
090-6653-1649
090-6653-1648

Kirk here. Here's a map showing three locations (Kumamoto Port, Yatsushiro Port, Misumi Port) where the Japanese Coast Guard is offering showers, pure water, phone charging, and other support.
https://twitter.com/JCG_koho/status/722210490735169536
For details in Japanese see
https://twitter.com/JCG_koho/status/722210201835671553
海上保安庁 on Twitter
“【海上保安庁のお知らせ】１９日の給水等支援場所は図のとおりです。　#支援情報”

【GAS UPDATE】
Saibu Gas has announced that it will be restoring gas to Minami ku and Chuo ku tomorrow, April 20th.
There is no current estimation for when gas will be restored in the rest of Kumamoto City, Koushi, Ozu, Kikuyo, Mashiki, Mifune, or Kashima.
Addition: Jackie Bencke has reported that gas is expected to be back on for kita ku within 3 to 7 days

Here's a job opportunity for those without a house now:
Jamie of J-kaiwa (http://www.j-kaiwa.com/) is looking for part-time/ full-time English teachers. Preferably someone who can start ASAP, and work for at least one year minimum. If you are from Kumamoto and looking to settle down somewhere else (i.e. Miyazaki), they will provide you with a guestroom for the time being, until you can find permanent accomodation. (Can someone please share this with the Kumamoto JETs? thanks.) Monthly pay is from JPY 250,000. If interested, please contact Jamie Hubbard directly via Facebook.
J-kaiwa英会話教室は、３歳から１０３歳までどなたでも大歓迎の英会話教室です。宮崎市の一ツ葉に教室があり、さまざまなレベルのクラスを開講しております。ジェイミー＆楽しい先生達と一緒に英語をしゃべってみらんね！？

Warnings via the Kumamoto Police twitter account. Tap on the pictures to see the English translation in the description.

Arnaud Dauen from Nishihara has kindly passed on this message from the Kumamoto Sento Union:
"All public baths (sento) belonging to the Kumamoto Prefecture public baths union are open as usual. If you have lost your lifeline, a bath, please use one of ours. We are offering free bathing support to victims. You will be asked to fill out your name, address, and age; this service is limited to victims. Each bath may have suffered damage, but under the circumstances, we have that decided we can offer hot water. Please feel free to use our facilities. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation."
The following lists the name, address, phone number, operating times and scheduled days of each location:
【営業する銭湯一覧】
銭湯名　　　　住所　　　　　　　　　　　　電話番号　　　　営業時間　　　定休日
菊の湯　　　　熊本市中央区新町4-7-46　　　096-354-5976 FREE　　15時～21時　　土曜日
世安湯　　　　熊本市中央区世安町448　　　096-325-8348 FREE　　15時～21時　　火・金曜日
龍の湯　　　　熊本市中央区琴平本町5-54　　096-366-9231 FREE　　15時～22時　　1・5・11・15・21・25日
大福湯　　　　熊本市中央区坪井2-5-28　　　096-343-7868 FREE　　13時～23時　　火曜日
たかの湯　　　熊本市東区栄町1-46　　　　　096-369-9512 FREE　　14時～23時　　月曜日
冨乃湯　　　　熊本市南区川尻4丁目10−20　　096-357-9221 FREE　　16時～18時　　月曜日
あしはらの湯　熊本市北区植木町田底2031-1　096-274-7212 FREE　　9時～22時　　第3水曜日
松の湯　　　　熊本市北区植木町田底311　　　096-274-6115 FREE　　8時～21時30分　なし

仙望湯　　　　宇土市赤瀬町777-6　　　　　　0964-27-1880 FREE　　10時～21時　　なし
城乃井温泉　　菊池市隈府1375　　　　　　　0968-25-1188 FREE　　　6時～23時　　なし
サンパレス松坂　山鹿市山鹿1104　　　　　　0968-43-3083 FREE　　11時〜22時30分 　第2・4水曜日
玉名ファミリー温泉　玉名市立願寺428　　　0968-74-3888 FREE　　　16時～21時　不定休＊事前にお電話を
潮湯センター海老屋　玉名郡長洲町長洲3308　0968-78-0666 FREE　　9時～20時　　第2・4火曜日

＜Call for 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Donations＞
Kumamoto Prefecture is currently taking donations to help those affected by the earthquakes that started on April 14. Donations will be accepted until June 30.
◆Click here for more info:
http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/kiji_15456.html?type=top
Call for 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Donations / 熊本県
Call for 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Donations 最終更新日：2016年4月19日 Call for 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Donations Kumamoto Prefecture is currently taking donations to help those affected by the earthquakes that started on April 14. Donations will be accepted until June 30. We are requesting donations be sent…

TV Show (直撃LIVE　グッディ!) broadcast today included a segment about looting. One of the people interviewed is a student of mine, Kunihiro Wago. I make a little cameo appearance in the background.
-- Kirk

We've been putting out a lot of information on the page -- so much so that it has become difficult to find what you are looking for. One indication of what people are looking for is the "Reach" statistics that Facebook provides. These statistics are only visible to editors of the page, but I'd like share some of them here in an effort to organize information according to size of the response.
1. Places you can get food and goods!! (49.2K)
April 16 at 3:44pm
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1019250848148347
Practical!
2. We've just had a major earthquake focused on Kumamoto. (24.1K)
April 14 at 9:32pm ·
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134.25925.123734781033296/1018142468259185/
Not useful now. Only got a big response because it was the first word out.
3. NHK has put an English video report about the earthquake on their web site (10.8K)
April 15 at 1:20am ·
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1018257384914360
Not useful now because NHK inexplicably took down the video. However, NHK has a few videos of interest that are available now:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160418_37/
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160419_08/
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/newsroomtokyo/aired/20160415.html
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160419_15/
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20160418171926977/
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160419_09/
4. Information on how to donate for Kumamoto from overseas. (10.6K)
April 17 at 10:59pm
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1020096654730433
5. All public baths In Kumamoto are open for free (9.6K)
April 17 at 2:51pm ·
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1019889311417834
6. BBC video report (8.9K)
April 15 at 12:00am
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1018220221584743
7. Kumamoto's techtonics are dominated by the Futagawa fault (7.4)
April 14 at 10:08pm
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1018156834924415
An informative post from co-editor, William
8. Strongest earthquake since 2011 strikes Kumamoto area (6.3K)
April 15 at 1:45am
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1018270614913037
Just a link to a Japan Times article that many clicked on.
9. This is Mr. Yoshikawa (6.1K)
20 hrs ago (evening of April 18th)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1020600994679999
A little article I wrote about a Mashiki man who is both a victim and a volunteer.
10. The volunteer effort in Kumamoto City has been postponed (5.8K)
April 15 at 11:45pm
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1018842178189214
11. These are some of the photos of the Mashiki area I took today. (5.5K)
19 hrs ago (evening of April 18th)
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1020626951344070
Photos that I (Kirk) took of the damage in Mashiki.
12. A video from NBC news (4.7K)
April 16 at 11:07am
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1019147361492029
Includes a short section with yours truly (Kirk)

NHK video report on non-Japanese staying in the International Center downtown. Be aware that NHK seems to have a habit of taking videos down soon after they are posted so, if you want to see the video, it's better not to wait until later.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20160418171926977/
Tags: Media, gettinghelp
Kumamoto's International Community Copes- News - NHK WORLD - English
Kumamoto's International Community Copes - News - NHK WORLD - English

The greatest barrier to relief supply distribution, according to this article, is traffic congestion. One worker said, "Some trucks we'll dispatch at noon, and by evening they still haven't returned" - meaning the truck could only make a single delivery.
Let's restrict driving to a minimum and avoid the main roads such as Rt. 57 and Rt. 3 whenever possible.
The other barrier mentioned was a "lack of hands". One man said, "I left Nara with a load of rice at 5:00 PM drove through the night without sleeping to arrive in Kumamoto at 4:00 AM only to find myself now, 10 hours later, still waiting for my truck to be unloaded."
I suspect this is mainly due to logistical and organizational issues, not a lack of help. Here's hope that they improve their efficiency.
-William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160419021.xhtml
救援物資、進まぬ配送　幹線渋滞や人手不足－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。

Through Yessy A.
From Asahi Shimbun 4/18
For foreigners in Kyusyu earthquake affected areas, you can call free of charge to the Disaster Information and translation service
092-687-5137
地震対応の無料通訳サービス　１０言語、２４時間対応：朝日新聞デジタル
　熊本県を中心にした一連の地震で、被災地で外国人との会話に困った場合、電話を通じて無料で通訳をするサービスを多言語コールセンターの会社が始めた。２４時間１０言語に対応する。緊急ダイヤルの番号は０９２・…

A Kumamoto woman in her 50s has died from "economy class syndrome," in which prolonged sitting causes blood clots to move to the heart, resulting in cardiac arrest. A further 16 have been hospitalized for the same reason. All had been sheltering in vehicles since the quake.
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160418026.xhtml
エコノミー症候群　車中泊の女性死亡－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。

William here with a roundup of top Kumanichi stories for the 19th.
- The airport has opened for cargo flights (good news!) but remains closed to commercial flights due to terminal damage.
- Certain areas of Aso City have received an evacuation order due to concerns over landslides.
- As of 6:00 AM this morning, the JMA has recorded 590 earthquakes of shindo 1 or higher since the Thursday night quake.
- The government has called for continued vigilance against further possible disasters over the coming week.
- Work has started to re-rail the shinkansen which derailed about 1.3 kilometers south of Kumamoto Station. The Transportation Ministry has announced finding damage at 130 locations on the Kyushu Shinkansen. Duration of repair work is unknown.
- Enjoy the sunny weather while you can! Clouds are expected to move in from Wednesday afternoon with heavy rain on Thursday and a week of cloud/intermittent rain following that.
That's all from here! Enjoy your day!

From Yessy A.
Latest Kumamoto map for shelters, hot foods, water portal, gasoline, bath, etc.,
https://www.facebook.com/sayaka.matsumoto.56884/posts/491732854352705
更新時間 4/17 19:53 下記朝日新聞の記事をソースに熊本県内の避難所一覧を作成しました。 適宜、避難所から届いた情報なども追加していきます。 http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASJ4J75GSJ4JUUPI004.html 16日現在の情報です。 閉鎖情報は随時対応しています。 大分県別府市追加しました。 別府市HPより http://www.city.beppu.oita.jp/04bousai/kinkyu.html ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝ 作成代表者: 塚田耀太 Youth action for Kumamoto創設者 (https://www.faceb…

From Yessy A.
Sagawa started delivery to Kumamoto
https://www.facebook.com/mei.kaneko.35/posts/975125492608536
このたび発生した熊本県を中心とする地震により亡くなられた方々のご冥福をお祈り申し上げるとともに、被災された皆さまには、心からお見舞い申し上げます。

Kumamoto International Foundation
Medical interpretor service by phoneEnglish,Chinese, Korean, Thai, Spanish 9:00 20:00 every dayPortugese Mon, Wed. Fri. 9:00 -17:00Filipino Wed. 13:00 -17:00Vietnamese Thurs. 13:00 - 17:00By AMDA

Here's an ABC News video that includes an interview with Noel Vincent.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/powerful-earthquake-strikes-japan-tsunami-advisory-issued/story?id=38428637
7.0 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Japan
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocked southern Japan today, igniting powerful aftershocks, including one registering at 5.8. An earlier tsunami advisory has been lifted. Today's quake struck near Kumamoto, just one day after a deadly earthquake in the same area left at least 9 dead and injured more...