A Taiwanese medical team arrived in the Japanese town of Suzu late on Thursday to join disaster relief efforts in the wake of an earthquake that struck the western coast of the country on Monday, killing scores of people and leaving many others trapped in the rubble of toppled buildings.
The four personnel from the Taiwan Development Association for Disaster Medical Teams was the first Taiwanese non-governmental organization (NGO) to arrive in Suzu, a coastal town of just over 5,000 residences, near the epicenter of the magnitude 7.5 quake, association deputy secretary-general Wang Wei-te (王為德) said.
Wang, a nurse who is part of the team, said that the other members in Suzu are emergency medical technician-paramedic Chiang Shang-yu (姜尚佑), association honorary chairperson Avon Hsiao (蕭雅文) and the organization’s Secretary-General Kenji Liu (柳育漢).
Photo courtesy of the association via CNA
The team, working under the leadership of Japan’s civil Airborne Rescue & Relief Operations With Search (ARROWS), on Friday flew by helicopter to isolated disaster areas of Suzu to evaluate the medical needs of the people there, Wang said.
The association said it sent the emergency team to Japan after consultations with the Peace Winds Japan and ARROWS about the situation in the disaster areas and what medical assistance was needed.
ARROWS, an NGO established by Peace Winds Japan, has been providing onsite support for the national command center and medical services at the emergency shelters since the quake struck western Japan.
As of yesterday, the death toll was 110, and at least 211 others remained unaccounted for, as rescue teams continued to search the rubble of the many collapsed building and roads, international news reports said.
There were about 11,000 people in Suzu, where 53 emergency shelters have been set up and numerous NGOs are working to help the people there, Wang said.
Taiwan’s and Japan’s civil organizations have maintained close links over the years, with the association and ARROWS signing a memorandum of understanding in 2018 for mutual support in training and disaster relief, Wang said.
Last month, the association sent a 16-member team to Japan for training in areas such as medical evacuation via helicopter in snowy weather, he said.
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