Support Noto Peninsula's Path to Recovery

<Japanese follows English>

We, the "Ishikawan Association in Seattle" (*1), seek your help to raise funds and support the affected people in the Noto Peninsula as they work to recover from the devastating damages caused by the recent natural disaster.

A once-in-a-century class torrential rain struck the Noto Peninsula on September 21st

, inflicting devastating damages through flash flooding and landslides upon a region and its residents who were already suffering the aftermath of the deadly earthquake on January 1st, 2024. As of September 27th, the catastrophic combination of flash floods and landslides has claimed 11 lives, with 6 people remaining missing, 456 people forced to evacuate, over 300 houses including recently built temporary housing completely ruined, 28 road blockages, 890 households left without power, and an alarming 4,253 households with no access to water.

This disaster has become particularly tragic as it occurred just as the people were starting to move forward and recover from the earlier earthquake. Not only has it caused immense material losses to the affected community, but it has also broken their spirit and motivation to rebuild their lives. The road to recovery for this resilient region has now become even longer and more arduous. The compounded hardships of natural disasters have left the people of Noto Peninsula in a precarious state, with the long journey of rebuilding made all the more challenging by these latest devastating blows.

100% of the funds raised through this campaign will be directly donated to our local partner nonprofit organization, "Noto no Kuni Hyakunen no Kei" (*2), to drive the following recovery efforts: 1) procure and deliver necessary supplies to the affected residents, 2) provide accommodation for volunteer workers from outside of Noto, and 3) disseminate the most up-to-date information on ongoing support activities."

Sincerely,

Takuya Funaki

President of Ishikawan Association in Seattle

(*1) Ishikawan Association in Seattle is an unincorporated nonprofit group consisting of people who live in Seattle, WA and are related to Ishikawa prefecture in Japan. The Noto peninsula is the northern part of Ishikawa.

(*2) Noto no Kuni Hyakunen no Kei (home page: https://noto-hinan.net/notonokuni/) is a incorporated nonprofit organization in Japan and was established specifically to create a vision of how to build a better and more sustainable community in the Noto peninsula. Ishikawan Association in Seattle and Noto no Kuni Hyakunenn no Kei previously worked together to create a grant-based scholarship program as a financial aid for the affected children by the earthquake in January.

Pictures below are cited from the Ishikawa Prefecture's homepage (https://www.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/saigai/202409ooame-higai.html)

「シアトル石川県人会」は、先日の豪雨により甚大な被害を受けた能登半島の被災者を支援する目的で、皆さまにご寄付お願い致します。

9月21日に能登半島を100年に一度クラスの集中豪雨が直撃し、元旦の大地震の余波に苦しんでいた地域とその住民に、甚大な水害と土砂災害をもたらしました。9月27日時点での被害状況は、死者11人、行方不明者6人、456人が一時避難を余儀なくされ、新設された仮設住宅含む300軒超の家屋が倒壊、28カ所の通行止め、890世帯が停電、さらに4,253世帯が断水という状態です。

この災害による物質的な損害もさることならが、元旦の震災からの復興が進み始めた矢先の二重被災となったことから、被災者にとって震災時よりも大きな精神的なダメージになったと言われています。少しでも早期に復興が進むよう、どうぞ能登半島へのご支援をお願い致します。

ここで集められた寄付金は一般社団法人「能登乃国百年之計」に100％渡され、1) 被災住民への必需品の調達・配送、2) 域外からのボランティアへの宿泊施設提供、3) 支援活動の最新情報の発信に活用されます。シアトル石川県人会と能登乃国百年之計は能登半島地震の被災者向けの奨学金プログラム設立において連携した実績があり、今回の災害支援でも協働していきます。

シアトル石川県人会 代表

舟木 拓也