Japan faces prospect of major epidemics, priest warns
March 24, 2011
The executive director of Caritas Japan warns that the nation faces the prospect of major epidemics because of lack of sanitation.
300,000 people have been evacuated from their homes following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and 2.4 million still lack drinking water. “There is no hot water, no gas, no shower service” in evacuation shelters, notes Father Daisuke Narui, and many are unable to wash their hands because of the water shortage.
The people of Sendai, which was severely affected by the earthquake, “still need more food and blankets,” he adds, and “the roads are still blocked by debris.” Nonetheless, residents are “very calm, they encourage each other, they are generous .. and give food to others.”
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