Japan quake victims face temporary housing woes

Kumamoto, Japan

THREE weeks after deadly earthquakes battered Kumamoto Prefecture and other parts of Kyushu, demand for temporary housing looks likely to outstrip supply. Recent surveys have revealed that the tremors destroyed or badly damaged about four times more homes than initially estimated. Furthermore, delays in constructing temporary homes are compounding the problem and prolonging the time thousands of evacuees will have to stay in shelters.

On Wednesday, the prefectural government announced 31,025 homes had been totally wrecked or badly damaged by the earthquakes. At the end of April, the prefectural government unveiled a plan to provide 4,200 temporary housing units, a figure based on an estimate that 8,000 homes had been destroyed or badly damaged. With the high likelihood that the figure will now be insufficient, the prefectural government is carefully examining how many units are needed and will consider constructing more.