Making lives resistant to disasters
-Comparison between cities and villages-

Mr. Ohmura used to be a "graphic designer" but quit his job 9 years ago and became a farmer. When the earthquake occurred, he set up a rescue team made up of 20 members and was involved in rescue operations for a half year. From his experiences in the rescue activities, he now holds doubts about so-called "Restoration". Rescue workers try to recreate and reconstruct the same city as it was before it collapsed easily due to the earthquake.

What were our necessities in disaster? What did we need to survive? They were water, gas, electricity, food, shelters and human relationships. Once the water, gas and electricity control systems were destroyed, these necessities would not be available for us. When food stores were destroyed, food was not also available. What's worse, we didn't have any knowledge. This was the typical scene after the earthquake.

So what happened to the rural area in Kobe? Some rural residents drank boiled water from nearby rivers and reservoirs and others had wells in use. By burning firewood and charcoal, fire was made available. In villages, farmers produced food such as rice, vegetables, meat and eggs. Even when houses collapsed, they could break them up with saws and save those who were trapped under them. And what's more, they had close human relationships.

By comparing cities with villages, we now know which is more resistant to disasters. It seems to me that the present Kobe restoration projects are exclusively trying to create a more resistant and stable city in a physical meaning, without sufficiently reviewing the weaknesses of the past city.

-Student's impressions-

I recognized that life in rural villages is steadier than that in cities. Now I can understand that rural villages are well-coordinated and function well.