Evacuation of nuclear power plant accident 3. Cruel contrast, persons got left behind

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

 

“March 15 (Tue) 11:00 Designed to be an indoor evacuation area within a range of 20 to 30 kilo meters.

13:00 MLIT : The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism instructed All Japan Car track Association not to enter into 30km area

because of evacuation area extending, since then no requests have been made to transport anything into the area.”

(source : publication information of All Japan Car track Association)

 

There is a documentary film produced by NHK,

named “ Seven days of evacuation of nuclear power plants accident : What happened in Fukushima? “

It shows mainly record about movement of evacuators from Namie town and Minami-souma city after the accident.

What became clear was the danger of the “inside evacuation” area.

The above information were excerpts from a report compiled by All Japan Car track Association on how to deal with the earthquake.

As you can see,

when the government designated the evacuation zone,

MLIT stopped requesting all the consortium to transport to the area.

In the documentary,

a person of a track company appears and shows a letter from MLIT at the time.

The order to evacuate in each house means that there’s adequate radioactive contamination,

as the government it became impossible to require private transport companies to transport materials to the area.

Therefore,

Japanese government had instructed them not to enter into the area.

It meant that the distribution of any goods stopped in this area.

At the time of the accident, it was early March.

Minami Soma, where the winter still remained was set as this zone.

At first inhabitants of Minami-Soma were forced to keep staying in their houses in the midst of severe cold weather.

As I wrote already the need to do so meant that radioactive materials had came.

So residents couldn’t use air conditioners.

Under the circumstances,

Mr.Sakurai, the mayor of Minami Soma appealed for help through internet broadcasting.

People of this place asked the Self-Defense Forces for help,

but they didn’t respond.

Because “ evacuate in each houses “ this was government’s order.

Sakurai determined to be unable to stay further and decided to start evacuation voluntarily gathering buses of their city.

But again,

cold and harsh discrimination occurs.

Also the bedridden and people with disorder in their legs were unable to ride the buses,

and families with children who had disability were having difficulty in evacuation too.

This documentary shows that five persons of those who were left alone in this zone and got died during March 2011.

 

In the town where almost all of people had left,

a sick old person was quietly left behind.

And mother with children saw the bus leaving knowing the meaning.

 

( text : Akira Tsuboi )