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On October 15, 2019, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the fourth meeting of the Emergency Response Headquarters for Typhoon No. 19* of 2019 at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
“This is the third day since the disaster struck. In the disaster-affected areas, the members of the police, fire departments, the Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Coast Guard are continuing their search, rescue and relief activities, day and night. Please continue to exert every effort to save as many people who are waiting for your help as possible.
 
Recovery work from the inundation is also in progress day and night. In particular, as of yesterday, 40% of the inundation has been cleared up in Hoyasu District, Nagano City, which is located along the Chikuma River and has been severely impacted by the disaster. We will continue to do our utmost to build temporary embankments and clear up the inundation.
 
Support for the daily lives of those affected by the disaster is also essential. We are successively sending out water, food, clothing, cardboard beds and tarpaulins, which areneeded, to the disaster-affected areas as push-mode support through the Team to Support the Daily Lives of Disaster Victims. Food has already begun to arrive. In addition, for assisting the management of the evacuation centers, we have also decided to dispatch support staff from local governments outside the prefectures affected by the disaster to the five prefectural governments and nine municipalities affected by the disaster.
 
In addition, it is important that affected municipalities be able to exert every effort toward recovery, without worrying about their finances. Please promptly move up the provision of regular local allocation tax. In the budget for this fiscal year, we secured 500 billion yen in contingency funds in light of the intensification of disaster-related damages in recent years. We will fully prepare for any fiscal demand deemed necessary, utilizing the contingency funds, along with the regular budget. In any case, we will take thorough budgetary measures, including a supplementary budget if necessary, to enable the affected municipalities to exert every effort for emergency response and recovery measures, without worrying about their finances. Please continue to follow through with our hands-on approach and devote yourselves to emergency disaster response, while paying due attention to the needs of the affected communities.”
 
*Typhoon Hagibis