\u2018It will take years to rebuild\u2019
\n Wajima
\nThe roads that snake up the Noto peninsular get worse the further we drive.
\nWhat starts as a few small, irregular cracks turn into sizeable craters and fissures. In some places the concrete has totally buckled, making the route impassable.
\nIt is no wonder rescue efforts have been rendered so complicated, and the full scale of the damage and casualties is still extremely unclear.
\nIndeed, some of the worst-hit areas remain almost inaccessible unless you have an army truck, or better a helicopter.
\nBut you don\u2019t need to be at the epicentre of this disaster to clearly see the destruction it has wrought.
\nThat is plainly evident in village after village we pass.
\nIn one, entire streets of old traditional houses are, at best, damaged beyond what\u2019s habitable, surrounded by shattered glass and fallen beams and, at worst, have completely collapsed.
\nThere are clues in the rubble as to the traditional lives uprooted here.
\nIn one destroyed home, wicker baskets lie scattered atop the fallen wooden walls, reinforced with just clay.
\nA lot might have been said about how good Japanese infrastructure is in the face of such quakes, but these homes didn\u2019t stand a chance.
\nIt\u2019s here we meet Mamiko Nakatani. She is taking shelter in the village hall.
\nShe takes us to her home – it\u2019s been in her family for 45 years. It\u2019s still standing, but only just and the damage is shocking.
\nCeilings collapsed, windows smashed, and her broken possessions cover the floor.
\nShe described how, when the quake hit, her huge bookshelves collapsed right on top of her elderly husband.
\nIt\u2019s a miracle he was unhurt, she says.
\nAnd when I ask her how it feels to look at the devastation – \u201cI\u2019m at a loss,\u201d she says, with tears in her eyes.
\n\u201cIt will take years to rebuild.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s clear the danger isn\u2019t over. Every so often we hear a deep rumble and the ground moves a little beneath us – tremors continuing.
\nBack in the car, our phones sound with alarm warnings of further quakes expected.
\nEventually, we reach a point where we can go no further. Landslides and trees block the roads and fissures in the concrete are too large for us to cross.
\nAt one such blocking, we meet Takuya Yamagishi who is being picked up by car. He is shivering, his clothes and hair are soaked through and his feet are cracked with mud.
\nHe has walked for over five hours in the cold and rain from his grandparent\u2019s village near Wajima to meet others and fetch help.
\nHe couldn\u2019t get here any other way, the roads are impassable by car.
\nHe tells us the village has limited supplies, water and power are cut, and many people have been left homeless. He looks like he\u2019s in shock.
\nIndeed, 33,000 people have had to evacuate their homes, and lots of people remain without water or electricity.
\n\u201cEven those who narrowly escaped death cannot survive without food and water,\u201d says Masuhiro Izumiya, the mayor of Suku – one of the worst affected towns.
\nOther local leaders have implied help has been too slow and have urged the government to hurry to clear the roads.
\nAt a roadside hub for rescue and relief workers, there are dozens of people and trucks. They are preparing to work through the night.
\nKenji Kamei is one of many who has been sent here from a neighbouring province.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018It will take years to rebuild\u2019 Wajima The roads that snake up the Noto peninsular get worse the further we drive. What starts as a few small, irregular cracks turn into sizeable craters and fissures. In some places the concrete has totally buckled, making the route impassable. It is no wonder rescue efforts have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-378599","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n