Evacuation of nuclear power plant accident 2. Futaba hospital incident.

(oil painting on wood panel. 117×91cm × 3 pieces. 2016)

 

“At last,

the 12th brigade transportation support bus of Japanese Self Defence Force appears at Iwaki Koyo High School.

After leaving Futaba Hospital at 10:30 a.m, it had passed nearly ten hours had passed.

When Tashiro,

the principal of the high school entered into the bus, he noticed a nasty smell filling inside.

Also he could see a man who had fallen on the floor,

many people who were wrapped in blankets without moving at all and people whose diapers had came off were dribbling around their excrement...

It seemed to be beyond description.

There are no SDF medical officers or hospital staff members on the bus.

Soldiers didn’t even have a list of evacuees. Knowing there were no medical staffs Tashiro felt deep anger.”

( source: article of Hazard Lab 43rd “ tears of a lion 11th “)

From the 3.11 nuclear disaster to the end of March,

there was a hospital from which 40 patients were died.

Futaba Hospital.

Before the accident,

the hospital, located four kilo meters from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant,

had a large number of bedridden dementia patients and 98 residents in its affiliated nursing facilities.

Like other hospitals,

patients at Futaba Hospital were rescued and evacuated with the cooperation of the police,

but the explosion of the reactor makes the situation more worse.

Explosion which occurred 12th March 2011 led to the temporary withdrawal of the Self-Defense Forces,

six hospital staffs were left with 127 old ill patients all day.

The distribution of food, water, electricity had stopped.

It can be said pretty emergency situation that being left with more than 100 ill patients under the candlelight.

 

On the 14th,

the Self-Defense Forces resumed rescue operations (although there was confusion regarding the way of transporting bedridden people),

132 patients were taken to buses and fled.

Meanwhile,

four patients got died in the hospital in 15th.

The 132 people on the evacuation bus were at first sent to a health center in the North.

As this evacuation started after the nuclear explosion,

they had to check the level of radioactive contamination.

 

On the morning of 14 days, another explosion occurred.

It’s so cold.

After contamination checking finished, SDF had to find a place to carry patients into.

Related persons to SDF made phone call to many facilities,

no place they could found.

Other hospitals or facilities had already been filled with patients from other towns.

Then they found a gym of a high school.

“Condition of patients are all good, there is no need to take care medically at all“

the principal of the high school was explained so,

he admitted.

The principal was Tashiro.

To south. SDF busses tried to go.

However,

they couldn’t use south the route.

As The nuclear power plant was on the way.

So using nine hours the bus drove 200 kilo meters on a horizontally inverted route.

The above description I show at first is about when a bus arrived at a high school.

Already three people died on the bus.

Until early the next day eleven of them lost their lives.

There are several SDF training schools in Fukushima.

I’ve heard that not a few young guys of towns around Fukushima daiichi had belonged to SDF.

 

( text : Akira Tsuboi )