Lessons on Community Social Services from the Great Hanshin Earthquake

抄録

The Great Hanshin Earthquake on Jan. 17, 1995, struck Kobe City, its neighboring cities and Awajishima island, and inflicted a great deal of devastating destruction. More than 6,400 people were killed and 250,000 houses collapsed or were burned. The quake revealed the vulnerability of the modern urban infrastructure and citizen's livelihood as well as the defectiveness of disaster response measures. Victims were largely made up by the elderly and people belonging to the lower income bracket. The administration's response tended to be delayed in grapsing the situation of elderly and disabled people and in taking prompt measures. The backwardness of housing, residential homes and home care services exacerbated the disaster. The shortage and lack of care for elderly and disabled people in shelters led to the deterioration of their conditions. The people who lost houses moved to prefabricated temporary housing units constructed largely in the outskirts areas of each city, in which 165 solitary fatalities (including suicides) among people living alone occurred as of July 22, 1997. In the aftermath of the quake, over a million volunteers headed by young persons from all parts of the country rushed to the disaster-stricken areas to help the victims. In some areas where community-based welfare activities by local residents had been developed, forming neighborhood networks, local residents themselves were active in tackling the quake disaster, including rescue and relief activities and fighting the fires. Residential homes, day service centers and their staff contributed in the disaster relief. 21/2 years have passed since the quake, however, neither restoration of housing nor reconstruction of the needy people's lives have been much in progress. Measures to support the lives of the victims are urgently needed, especially providing individual compensation, low-priced housing and securing employment. Building a livable and safe welfare community in each area through local residents' initiative should be promoted to ensure urban restoration and to protect against disasters. This article describes crucial lessons learned from the Great Hanshin Earthquake on community social services, including negative and positive aspects. The Hanshin quake has brought about the biggest urban disaster Japan has experienced after the Second World War. The character of disaster problems and response measures differed from the emergency stage (in the aftermath of the quake) to the relief stage (roughly untill the end of March 1995) and the restoration and reconstruction stage (thereafter).