New relief plan should provide secure shelters, proper care to evacuees

[kristopher]

New relief plan should provide secure shelters, proper care to evacuees

The anxiety of residents near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is unimaginable as they are unsure of the degree of danger that the complex poses to them and whether more residents will be evacuated -- even though more than one month has passed since the tsunami hit the plant.

The government has announced that it will designate most areas in five municipalities situated farther than 20 kilometers from the plant -- where the cumulative amount of radiation is feared to reach 20 millisieverts per year -- as a "planned evacuation zone" and evacuate all residents within a month.

Furthermore, the government will designate areas that are situated within a radius of 20-30 kilometers from the complex but are not part of the planned evacuation zone as an "emergency evacuation preparation zone." Children, expecting mothers and those who need nursing care will be urged to refrain from entering the zone because it is difficult for them to promptly escape in case of emergency.

The new evacuation plan is better than the existing one in that it takes into account the amount of radiation, wind directions and geographical features of the areas concerned. The current arrangement gives uniform evacuation orders and indoor standby advisory notices according to the distance from the plant. Still, the new plan appears insufficient to relieve evacuees' concerns....


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110414p2a00m0na002000c.html

The article goes on to discuss why many are returning to the danger zone, and the mental/emotional toll this is taking on the survivors...

Most residents of areas within a 20-30-kilometer radius of the Fukushima nuclear plant swiftly moved to evacuation shelters shortly after an indoor standby advisory was issued in these areas. However, a large number of them have reportedly returned home -- mostly for health reasons....