Successor-Designate Daisuke Nakayama visited Ishikawa Prefecture on February 6 and 7 to offer condolences to the followers impacted by the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake and to encourage those involved in relief and support activities.
During his stay in the prefecture, he visited two evacuation shelters, the diocese office, and five affected churches. He took the opportunity to observe the operations of the seventh headquarters disaster relief corps and offered words of encouragement while visiting their base camp.
Rev. Nakayama spent the afternoon of February 6 at the diocese office, where he expressed his sympathies to the assembled followers and attentively listened to their accounts of the disaster.
The next day, he visited the evacuation shelters and impacted churches in Wajima and Suzu cities. He carefully inspected the state of the churches and the surrounding areas.
In the afternoon, he paid visits to the churches in the town of Anamizu and Nanao City. He expressed his condolences to the followers gathered at each location.
In Suzu City, he visited the local confectionery store “Melhen Nisshindo”—run by a follower and serving as the base camp for the Hinokishin Corps—to encourage the corps members and observe their relief work.
Immediate Response of Disaster Relief Hinokishin Corps
The Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture suffered extensive damage due to a major earthquake on January 1. Some of the hardest-hit municipalities experienced delays in assessing the damage and restoring infrastructure, and volunteer disaster relief activities only began toward the end of January.
Prior to these efforts, two water trucks and relief supplies such as water, blankets, and fuel provided by Tenrikyo Disaster Relief Hinokishin Corps reached the cities of Wajima and Suzu on January 5, and units from Ishikawa Diocese began water supply support in the city of Nanao on that day.
The first headquarters corps was dispatched to the disaster-stricken area on January 16. Its members provided support to the evacuation shelters in Wajima and Suzu cities, including preparing meals for evacuees. Different units of the Hinokishin Corps have since been involved in initial response efforts at various locations across Ishikawa Prefecture.
From January 28 to 30, the fourth headquarters corps not only continued activities in Wajima and Suzu cities but also took over water supply support in Nanao City from the Ishikawa diocese corps.
From February 6 to 8, the seventh headquarters corps was dispatched and took up the duties of the previous corps to provide meals to evacuation shelters in Suzu City. Additionally, its members responded to requests from the volunteer center to assist at damaged houses. They removed broken furniture and dismantled block walls. The Disaster Relief Hinokishin Corps concluded its water supply support activities in Nanao City with the seventh dispatchment.
From February 9 to 11, the eighth headquarters corps took over the relief activities in the town of Shiga from the Ishikawa diocese corps. Upon requests from the town’s volunteer center, its members were dispatched to damaged houses to assist with wall demolition. They also continued to cook meals at evacuation shelters in Wajima City, provide school lunches in Suzu City, and remove block walls from damaged houses.
The ninth headquarters corps engaged in relief activities between February 12 and 14. Over the course of approximately a month between January 16 and February 14, units from 23 diocese corps were dispatched. The tenth headquarters corps was scheduled to be dispatched from February 15 to continue the activities.