Village Development in Niigata: All volunteers returned home safely

We send our highest regards to the people who suffered the Niigata Chuetsu-oki earthquake.

When the earthquake struck at 10:13 am on the 16th of July, nine volunteers belonging to one of JEN’s programs in the Iketani and Iriyama areas were in the process of learning how to weave “zori” traditional Japanese straw sandals.

Even though the earthquake was quite strong there weren’t any collapsed houses or significant damage, and the villagers and volunteers were unharmed. Services on the local railway; Hokuhoku Line were suspended, so the volunteers were taken to Echigo Yuzawa station, and returned home safely.

The Toka Machi Regional Development Committee’s Chairman, Mr. Yamamoto, assessed the situation at neighboring Iketani and Iriyama, and stated that the damages did not appear to have reached their rice fields, crops or roads.

After we verified the situation at Iketani and Iriyama, we are considering collecting data in the Kashiwazaki region, which suffered the most damage, and looking into the possibility of extending our assistance there.