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On October 28, 2019, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 14th 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,
 
“Even now, there are those whose safety or whereabouts are unknown after the record-breaking heavy rains last weekend. I ask the police, firefighters, the Japan Coast Guard, and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) units to continue to make every effort in search operations.
 
The power and water outages that resulted from those heavy rains have mostly been resolved and drainage work is proceeding at a fast pace. With respect to the damages to the houses and other buildings caused by the flooding, please proceed with the assessment work swiftly.
 
To advance rebuilding the daily lives of those who have been affected by the recent series of disasters, it is important to issue swiftly the Disaster Victims Certificates, which are required for them to move into temporary housing as well as acquire support grants for reconstruction.
 
In areas where widespread damage has been sustained, such as Nagano City, we are speeding up and streamlining damage certification assessments, such as determining if an entire area would be considered ‘totally destroyed’ based on a sample survey. We are also making efforts to secure assessment teams by dispatching support staff among the local governments.
 
As a result, approximately 25,000 building surveys have already been conducted in the six prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saitama, and Nagano.
 
In addition, each local government is also conducting a survey of those affected by the disaster on their preference over housing. In order to secure emergency housing, the provision of public and other housing has been advancing and some local governments have started accepting applications for emergency housing by leasing private-sector rental housing.
 
Tomorrow, a Cabinet decision will be made concerning the government ordinance to designate Typhoon No. 19* as a ‘Disaster of Extreme Severity,’ as well as the government ordinance to designate it a ‘specified disaster’ under the Act on Reconstruction from Large-scale Disasters.
 
This will enable the local governments affected by the disaster to engage in disaster response and recovery work with peace of mind, without worrying about their fiscal conditions or budgetary matters. At the same time the Government will conduct emergency repair work for roads on behalf of the local governments as requested.
 
As a result of the consecutive torrential rains and typhoons, many people affected by the disasters still continue to live with uncertainty about their futures, and there is a harsh reality that they are losing the motivation to rebuild.
 
While each local government continues their all-out efforts, volunteer centers have been established in 110 municipalities and 14 prefectures and many volunteers are engaging in various activities in those affected areas.
 
Under the basic policy of doing everything possible, we intend to exert every effort towards the reconstruction of lives and ‘nariwai’ (occupations and livelihoods that sustain people’s daily lives) with a sense of urgency. I ask you to further your hard work.”
 
*Typhoon Hagibis