Over 1,200 volunteers mobilize to aid quake-stricken Kumamoto

Since municipalities in Kumamoto Prefecture opened their doors to assistance this month, more than 1,200 disaster relief volunteers have arrived to support recovery efforts. Volunteer hubs were set up across 11 municipalities in the southwestern region, and ten of those began sending volunteers by Saturday, receiving more applications than they had requested. By Friday, 1,293 volunteers were officially registered and will be engaged in tasks such as clearing rubble and cleaning homes affected by the July 28 magnitude-7.1 earthquake.

The prefectural government originally urged would-be volunteers to stay away until local authorities could accommodate them. Current figures show 39 fatalities, over 6,500 individuals still in evacuation shelters, and about 18,000 houses either destroyed or damaged. Among the volunteers is 58-year-old Risako Matsumoto, who traveled from Iwata to the hard-hit town of Uki during her vacation to lend a hand.