14. A Study of Nishihara Village’s Disaster Response in the Kumamoto Earthquake and the Disaster Victims’ Perception of Life Recovery and Assessment of Health

The aim of this study is to try to get an integrated understanding of the municipality’s disaster response in Nishihara Village, Kumamoto Prefecture, and of the victims’ perception of life recovery and assessment concerning health as well as to clarify the actual conditions and issues in the first year following the disaster, from the initial/emergency period of evacuation life to the early stages of recovery. The results of this survey make clear that the rapid response taken toward disaster victims in Nishihara Village was due to the flexible rearrangement of disaster response organizations and the way in which headquarters was established from the early stages of the disaster, as well as the creation of an original support system for rebuilding victims’ lives. It was also revealed that of the victims’ evaluations, assessment of perception of recovery was influenced by the damage situation and the housing situation. Furthermore, in health assessments, it was determined that deterioration of health among long-term shelter evacuees and in-vehicle evacuees has occurred.