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A related issue, not mentioned in this article, is Abe's belated designation of the Kumamoto earthquakes as "a disaster with extreme severity" (激甚災害指定 -- gekijin saigai shitei). Gov. Kabashima called for the designation early on:
http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/115979.php
However, the designation was not made until the this morning (April 25):
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/20160425-OYT1T50031.html
-- Kirk
Tag: Media, gettinghelp
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-24/abe-says-japan-will-compile-extra-budget-for-kumamoto-earthquake
Abe Says Japan Will Compile Extra Budget for Kumamoto Earthquake
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday he will create an extra budget to address the economic damage caused by deadly earthquakes in Kumamoto earlier this month.

"KYOTO--A group of 'maiko' (apprentice geisha), including some from disaster-hit Kumamoto Prefecture, reached out to tourists visiting the ancient capital and asked for donations to help victims of last week's earthquake."
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201604240038.html
Tag: Donating
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Apprentice geisha from Kumamoto help quake victims：The Asahi Shimbun

Saibu Gas is working to restore service. According to their latest update (11:00 AM today), service to approximately 100,000 homes was stopped as a result of the quake and 34% have had their service restored.
Last week a man from the gas company came to our home and told me that safety checks and then turning the gas on would be done one home at a time in order to insure safety. He told me that he was from Kagoshima and had come to Kumamoto to help with the restoration effort.
Even if you don't read Japanese, I think you should be able to follow the increase in the percentage of homes that have been restored at the following page:

http://www.saibugas.co.jp/disaster/index.htm
-- Kirk
Tag: Infrastructure
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April 25 - Kumamoto City homepage: Evacuation announcement
(4/24 11:25 a.m.) Danger of collapse of embankment slope
Residents of parts of 2 chome No. 32 Tatsuda, Kita-ku are advised to evacuate the area and seek refuge at a nearby safe zone. 避難指示発令（平成２８年４月２４日１１時２５分）
熊本地震の影響によりのり面崩落の危険性があります。
北区龍田２丁目３２番の一部にお住まいの方は、付近の安全な場所へ避難してください。
- Ciaran

Ajisen Ramen, based in Kumamoto, now has ramen shops all over the world -- but they haven't forgotten their hometown!
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/21/national/kumamoto-ramen-chain-serves-bowls-evacuees/#.Vx11a2Nq0pY
-- Kirk
Tag: Media
To see more media coverage about the disaster that has been shared on Kumamoto International click here:
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Kumamoto ramen chain serves up bowls for evacuees | The Japan Times
About 1,000 people formed long lines in the cold night air Monday at a shelter in the quake-hit town of Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, to get a warm bowl of

April 25 - Kumamoto City homepage: Water leakage surveyors coming to a neighborhood near you
The Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau has deployed a large number of surveyors from around the country to investigate roadways and building plots for leaks based on information provided by Kumamoto citizens. Surveyors can be identified by their uniform and arm band (e.g. "Fukuoka Municipal Waterworks Burea", etc.) and may approach you with inquiries.
*[There have been reports of imposters and trespassers of late so do not hesitate to demand to see some identification {mibunshou} before engaging with any such person.]
漏水調査へのご協力について
現在、上下水道局では、全国から多数の応援職員の派遣をいただき、市民の皆様からの情報を基に、道路及び宅地内の漏水調査を行っております。
漏水調査に伴い、宅地内に入ることもありますが、制服と腕章（例：福岡市水道局など）を着用しておりますので、ご協力をお願いいたします。
なお、状況についてお尋ねすることもありますので、併せてご協力をよろしくお願いいたします。
- Ciaran
Tag: Infrastructure
To see more information about infrastructure restoration that has been shared on Kumamoto International click here:
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April 25 - Kumamoto City homepage: About garbage collection
In order to concentrate on cleaning up the irregular volume of disposed of items due to the earthquake, the city's ordinary household waste collection has been temporarily restricted to "burnable garbage" in all city districts except Ueki. http://www.city.kumamoto.jp/common/UploadFileDsp.aspx?c_id=5&id=12495&sub_id=48&flid=83170
- Ciaran
Tag: Infrastructure
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This article is required reading for anyone considering traveling to Kumamoto to do volunteer work.
-- KIrk
Tags: Volunteering, media
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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/24/national/volunteers-advised-to-do-their-homework-before-going-to-kumamoto/
Volunteers advised to do their homework before going to Kumamoto | The Japan Times
As public interest in volunteering to help quake-hit Kyushu surges ahead of next week's Golden Week holidays, experts are advising those planning to take t

The photo shows partitions being put up to give evacuees a little privacy but is not directly related to the content of the article, which describes the huge impact the quakes are having on the local economy.
-- Kirk
Tag: Media
To see more media coverage about the disaster that has been shared on Kumamoto International click here:
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http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002899282
Small firms struggle in Kumamoto
KUMAMOTO — Small and midsize businesses in Kumamoto Prefecture have suffered serious damage following a series of powerful earthquakes, with many of them forced to struggle on their own — unlike branches of major corporations backed by their headquarters.

"Kintsugi" (literally, putting together with gold) is a tradition with a long history in Japan. The idea is not only to salvage what one can of an heirloom but also that the repaired item can even be aesthetically superior to the original. Look at the following video (in English) to see just how beautiful pieces repaired in this way can be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT55_u8URU0
-- Kirk
Tag: Media
To see more media coverage about the disaster that has been shared on Kumamoto International click here:
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http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/volunteer-craftsman-goes-to-kumamoto-to-repair-earthquake-damaged-family-heirloom-ceramics
Volunteer craftsman goes to Kumamoto to repair earthquake-damaged family heirloom ceramics
Residents of Kumamoto are still picking up the pieces after being rocked by a series of destructive earthquakes, and no…

Joe Tomei here. Despite the rain, I appreciated the quiet day. We are working on the FAQ, and are starting to assemble the places to donate. While the FAQ now has 6 listings for donations, I imagine that there are going to be more groups that are going to continue to work in Kumamoto over the coming months, and we'd like to list them. If you know of a group, please send us a message and we'll work to get the information into our FAQ. Thanks.

Here's a case where the old adage "no news is good news" applies. When you turned on the evening news, you probably didn't see anything about Tsujunkyo -- and that's because it's basically OK. An inspection conducted on the 16th did not reveal any structural damage to the bridge itself. Some leaking in the aqueduct was detected (Tsujunkyo was built to carry water used for irrigation from one plateau to another) so those leaks will need to be repaired but I trust the experts will figure out how to plug up those leaks and put the old bridge back to work:
http://yamato-tour.org
The fact that Tsujunkyo came through fairly well is not due to a lack of shaking, though the shaking was somewhat less violent than what hit Kumamoto Castle. The screenshot you see shows that Yamato-machi, where the aqueduct is located, was rocked by a 6 lower and a 5 upper quake. (For information on the shaking in specific areas see the following post:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1024502414289857)
Tsujunkyo was built toward the end of the Edo period using the same techniques and expertise that went into the building of the Kumamoto Castle walls. Many castle walls didn't fare as well perhaps due to the more intense 6 upper shaking and also, in the case of the walls supporting the main castle building, the increased weight placed on them by the use of concrete in the 1960 rebuilding of the castle.
Hats off to the engineering skill of Yasunosuke Futa and the people who worked under him to complete Tsujunkyo in 1854!
P.S. A major quake hit Kumamoto on July 28, 1889 so Tsujunkyo has withstood that as well!
--- Kirk

This is a long, personal account of the earthquake, with lots of good pictures. I couldn't find the name of the name of the author, which struck me as a little odd in a "personal account" written in the first person. Still, a good read, I think.
-- Kirk
http://jpninfo.com/48439
Tags: Media, photos
To see more media coverage about the disaster that has been shared on Kumamoto International click here:
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How Does an Earthquake Really Feel? A Personal Account of the Kumamoto Earthquake
The frequent natural disasters that happen in Japan are certainly off-putting for foreign visitors and ex-pats, especially if you come from a country that never suffers from them. Moving to Kumamot…

Earthquakes play havoc not just with the Earth surface but with its plumbing as well. Spring flow at Suizenji Park has dropped by 20-30% percent since the Big One, leaving much of its pond dry. A researcher at Kumamoto University noted that artesian water flows through the Kumamoto plain at two levels, shallow and deep, separated by the Futa layer, and that this layer may have been disturbed, allowing the shallow layer to drain to the deep.
The article notes that the majority of wells supplying water to the city system draw from the deeper layer so will likely not be affected, but that houses relying on their own wells draw from the shallow layer and thus must take caution not only for shortages but for water quality: tests should be conducted before drinking.
-- William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160424020.xhtml
Tag: Understandingwhathappened
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What happened in my location? What happened where my loved one is located? These are natural questions that we haven't been able to answer precisely thus far. Today, however, I found a searchable database on the Japanese side of the Japan Meteorological Agency website that can help us answer these questions, at least in terms of how bad the shaking was in your area or your loved one's area.
http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/eqdb/data/shindo/index.php
The database is only available in Japanese but I think I can make the information accessible to those of you with an interest in how bad the shaking was in a particular area, even if you do not understand Japanese.
To make sense of this information, you need to understand the JMA Seismic Intensity Scale. Here's the official explanation:
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/inttable.html
And here's an article about the scale that was published on the Japan Times website:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/21/national/impossible-remain-standing-japans-earthquake-intensity-scale/
Now, to explain the images I have attached to this post. For each location, I have search for every instance of 5 lower or above on the JMA scale for that location. The column on the far right shows the JMA intensity for the location. You can distinguish between 6 upper (6強) and 6 lower (6弱) by the color: burgundy for 6 upper and bright red for 6 lower. Similar, 5 upper (5強) is orange and 5 lower (5弱) is yellow.
If you click through the images, you can read a few notes I have added about each.
If you do not find your own location of the location of a loved one, please type a request for that information in a comment below. As soon as I can get around to it I will post an image for that location as a response to the comment.
-- Kirk
Tag: Understandingwhathappened
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As I wrote in a separate post yesterday, so many volunteers went to Mashiki yesterday that they had to close registration shortly after 9 AM:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1023848584355240
It's great that lots of people are trying to chip in. I hope, though, that people will not get the idea that because Mashiki got more volunteers than they could handle on a Saturday morning that the volunteering needs of Kumamoto have been met. There is a huge amount of work to be done and many places where needs have not yet been met. We will try to provide more information about volunteering opportunities and needs over the coming day. To review information about volunteering that has already been posted in this page, click on the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/search/123734781033296/stories-by/str/volunteer/keywords_posts/intersect/
To see more media coverage about the disaster click here:
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201604230028.html
Volunteers rush to Kumamoto to join earthquake relief efforts：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--Volunteers flocked to municipalities in quake-stricken Kumamoto Prefecture on April 23 at

We received information from a Kumamoto native living in Canada about how to donate through Japanese consulates in Canada and the United States. (Thanks Mine!) I have placed the link to information from the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles first because the page offers a wider variety of methods of contribution than the others.
-- Kirk
Los Angeles
http://www.la.us.emb-japan.go.jp/e_web/2016_KumamotoQuake_Donations.htm
Toronto
http://www.toronto.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/english/news/political-news/kumamoto2016-2.html
San Francisco
http://www.sf.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html
Tag: Donating
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Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles
The Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles has received many inquiries about how to make contributions to the victims of the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake.

The head of the International Federation of Red Cross visited Nishihara Village and so this article presents information about the situation there.
"Emergency shelters in Nishihara village are full of people who have nowhere else to go. A very high proportion of the displaced people are elderly, and Red Cross medical staff have to deal with many unexpected needs. It is very hot inside some shelters during the day, creating a high risk of heat stroke among the elderly people. Another serious problem is the lack of running water, which has resulted in a deteriorating hygiene situation in some facilities and a growing risk of infectious diseases."
-- Kirk
Tag: Media
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http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/asia-pacific/japan/ifrc-president-visits-earthquake-affected-kumamoto---we-will-continue-supporting-you-until-the-end--72160/#sthash.WLnXcbHd.dpuf
IFRC President visits Red Cross earthquake relief efforts in Kumamoto - IFRC
President Konoe commends the Red Cross staff for their contribution to the earthquake relief efforts

"The Kumamoto prefectural government announced plans April 22 to build 50 units in the village of Nishihara, one of the municipalities hit hard by the disaster.
The prefectural government and the Kumamoto city government also decided to provide 320 units in public housing facilities to victims free of charge."
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201604230025.html
Tags: Media, gettinghelp
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UPDATE: Kumamoto gets ready to build temporary units for quake victims：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--Authorities here are gearing up to start construction on temporary housing facilities for

"Although Abe’s visit to Kumamoto was originally planned for April 16 — two days after the first magnitude-6.5 quake hit —it was postponed after the stronger second quake measuring magnitude-7.3 struck the area in the early hours of that day, causing even more serious damage."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/23/national/abe-visits-quake-hit-kumamoto-service-on-key-section-of-kyushu-bullet-train-line-resumes/#.Vxt5J2Nq0pY
Tag: Media
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Abe visits quake-hit Kumamoto; service on key section of Kyushu bullet-train line resumes | The...
Making his first visit to Kumamoto Saturday after the powerful earthquakes that hit the prefecture and other parts of central Kyushu roughly a week ago, Pr