Abstract
This article examines the actual conditions and problems with regard to the rehabilitation process of dwellings in a rural area damaged by the Northern Miyagi Earthquake on July 26, 2003. The authors conducted 31 interviews and administered 3 questionnaires to the affected households, and based on the results, they examined the changes of housing from the evacuation period right after the earthquake through reconstruction or the repair process of dwellings, the way the households secured funds for reconstruction or repairs, and how the character of rural communities affected the rehabilitation process and securing the financial resources.
The findings are as follows: (1) The affected people were able to remain on their lands even after their houses had been damaged, because they had storehouses, garages, etc. However, they had to shoulder repair expanses not only for damaged dwellings but also for agricultural implements and auxiliary structures. (2) The main financial resource for reconstruction was home loans, and the second was earthquake insurance. Only the households living with members of the younger generation working in the non-agricultural sector could take out mortgages. On the other hand, some people hat to abandon their homes since they did not qualify for mortgages. (3) Public subsidy systems for housing reconstruction are ineffective for reconstruction of houses in rural areas, because of limits as to household income and the age of the family head. In general, family size in rural areas is bigger and the family head is older than is the case in urbanized areas. (4) Many households could pay all the expenditures for repairing their houses using earthquake insurance and the subsidy from Miyagi Prefecture. (5) Among households which reconstructed their houses, there was a time lag due to the requirement of applying for permission to use farmland for housing. A time lag was also observed among households repairing their houses whether unaided or not. These findings suggest that the character of the rural community affects the process of rehabilitation of dwellings and that appropriate support systems should be developed.
