Evacuees in western Japan relieved as more shelters accepting pets

KURASHIKI, Okayama/KUMANO, Hiroshima -- Shelters for evacuees with pets have been set up in disaster-hit areas in western Japan that were devastated by recent floods and landslides.

The move came after evacuees complained that they had been barred from staying at shelters with their pets. In response to the move, the municipal governments decided to set up shelters and offer spaces for evacuees with pets.

Evacuees welcome the move as staying at ordinary shelters with pets could cause disputes with other evacuees due to poor sanitation and the cries of their animals. "Pets are our family members. I can't imagine our animals being separated from us," one of the evacuees commented.

At an evacuation center at Nima Elementary School in the flood-ravaged Mabicho district of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, a fifth grade classroom on the second floor has been set aside for evacuees with pets. The floors are covered with blue sheets and air conditioning and fans in the room work to create a friendly environment for pets, which are vulnerable to the heat.

Akemi Fujiwara, 43, evacuated to the center on July 7 with her 1-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, but she had been barred from staying with her dog inside the facility. Veterinarians and others found that Fujiwara and her dog were staying in a corridor without air conditioning or outdoors, and urged the manager of the shelter to allow her to stay with her pet dog. As a result, she began to use a classroom with her dog on July 15. "I feel relieved because I can spend time with my dog," commented Fujiwara.

The Kurashiki Municipal Government set up an evacuation center exclusively for evacuees with pets on July 21 at Hoida Elementary School in the Tamashima district next to Mabicho after realizing that some victims with pets had evacuated outside of the city.

The municipal government offered the school's gymnasium to evacuees with pets and prepared cages and pet food. The floor is covered with sheets, and there are 22 residents from nine households with 10 dogs staying at the facility. Eiko Yamamoto, 46, who evacuated from the Mabicho district with her 6-year-old Yorkshire Terrier said, "We slept inside my car after an official at an evacuation center refused to let me stay with my dog there. At this venue, I can stretch my legs."

Meanwhile, the Kumano Municipal Government in Hiroshima Prefecture also began offering two rooms at the town's gymnasium for evacuees with pets. Currently, nine households with pets are staying at the facility.

(Japanese original by Satoshi Kondo, Hanshin Bureau and Nana Hayashida, Okayama Bureau)