We Are Tomodachi Winter 2018

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24The earthquake in central Mexico claimed the lives of 333 people in the first week after it struck and damaged 11,000 homes and other buildings.Overcoming Disasters TogetherEmergency Relief for Mexico from JapanOn September 19, 2017 at 1:14 p.m. (local time), a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck central Mexico, collapsing many buildings even in the capital, Mexico City.Upon receiving a request from the Mexican government, Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs decided that same day to dispatch the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Rescue Team, and that evening, two officials from the Secretariat in the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) promptly departed for Mexico as an advance survey team. Each time a JDR rescue team is deployed, it is formed from personnel on a registry of selected police officers, firefighters, and coast guard members. These personnel have undergone regular training, enabling them to respond rapidly and precisely to large-scale disasters, and they are always ready to depart Japan within 24 hours of receiving a deployment order from the Minister for Foreign Affairs.In response to this large-scale earthquake in Mexico, a total of 72 people—the JDR rescue team members, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JICA officials, a medical team, structural assessment experts, logistics experts, and other personnel—and four search and rescue dogs hastened to the disaster area seeking to save as many lives as possible within the first 72 hours of the disaster striking, after which the survival rate drops precipitously. The team also prepared generators, materials and equipment for search operations, rescue equipment such as engine cutters to slice through steel and concrete, and other items based on a pre-determined list of priorities, then transported the items to the disaster area after loading their aircraft right up to its maximum capacity. Junichi Hirano of the JICA Japan Disaster Relief Team Secretariat was among those dispatched and he served as the coordinator of logistical support for the team’s operations. He recounted his experience saying, “The JDR Rescue Team operates on the principle of never burdening the recipient country with the need for transport, food, shelter, or anything else necessary for its operations. But in Mexico, in addition to the backup provided by the Embassy of Japan in Mexico and the JICA Mexico Office, Japan-affiliated companies and the association of Nikkei