[10 Years Since the Kumamoto Earthquakes] Relief Activities and the Aftermath
Approaching the 10th anniversary of the Kumamoto earthquakes, the Japanese Red Cross Society reports on its past relief efforts, including preventing disaster-related deaths, and offers media interviews.
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- 📰 Published: April 7, 2026 at 22:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 7, 2026 at 13:30
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In the Kumamoto earthquakes that occurred in April 2016, tremors of seismic intensity 7 were observed twice, mainly in Kumamoto Prefecture, causing immense damage. We are soon approaching the 10-year milestone since the earthquake.
The Japanese Red Cross Society (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Atsushi Seike; hereinafter "JRCS") dispatched approximately 2,300 staff members from across the country within about three months after the disaster, and many Red Cross volunteers were also active.
Kumamoto Red Cross Hospital, located 3.5 km from the epicenter, fulfilled roles in numerous base functions, including the prefecture's core disaster base hospital, doctor helicopter base hospital, and DMAT gathering base, even while many of its own staff were affected by the disaster.
The JRCS currently employs many staff members who experienced and participated in activities in the disaster-stricken areas at that time. We can cooperate by providing interviews (online available) or comments.
Please let us know if we can be of any assistance in writing articles or producing programs.
JRCS Response in the Earthquake
The JRCS implements humanitarian relief activities based on its mission to "protect life, health, and human dignity."
In addition, the Disaster Relief Act stipulates a "duty to cooperate in relief" for the national and prefectural governments, and it is also positioned as a "designated public institution" under the Basic Act on Disaster Management.
In this disaster as well, medical support teams, mainly relief squads, were dispatched from all over the country to the affected areas, and we engaged in various support activities tailored to on-site needs, such as medical treatment at aid stations and evacuation centers, psychological care, and distribution of relief supplies.
In this disaster, we focused not only on responding to direct deaths caused by the earthquake's tremors but also on preventing disaster-related deaths due to prolonged evacuation life.
Medical Relief
Medical relief, primarily conducted by relief squads, began activities from the hyper-acute phase following the foreshock. Over approximately two months until June 2, when the handover to local relevant organizations was completed, 207 relief squads were dispatched from nationwide. A total of 1,689 people were active, attending to 6,944 evacuees.
The relief squads conducted mobile clinics at evacuation centers and deployed dERUs (temporary clinics) equipped with medical equipment in Mashiki Town, Nishihara Village, and Minamiaso Village. Based in these locations, support personnel arriving from nationwide worked in shifts.
The infection control team of Kumamoto Red Cross Hospital, to address infectious diseases that became a concern as evacuation life prolonged, collaborated with the prefectural infection management network. They provided specialized knowledge and supplies to supporting relief squads and intervened in securing isolation spaces at each evacuation center in cooperation with local public health nurses.
Furthermore, to counter "economy class syndrome" caused by sleeping in cars or unaccustomed evacuation life, sonographers centered around the JRCS Kumamoto Health Management Center conducted 24-hour screenings for DVT (deep vein thrombosis), distributing elastic stockings and administering medication based on diagnosis results. As preventive activities, they held health gymnastics classes, unfolding various activities close to the affected people.
The Japanese Red Cross Society (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Atsushi Seike; hereinafter "JRCS") dispatched approximately 2,300 staff members from across the country within about three months after the disaster, and many Red Cross volunteers were also active.
Kumamoto Red Cross Hospital, located 3.5 km from the epicenter, fulfilled roles in numerous base functions, including the prefecture's core disaster base hospital, doctor helicopter base hospital, and DMAT gathering base, even while many of its own staff were affected by the disaster.
The JRCS currently employs many staff members who experienced and participated in activities in the disaster-stricken areas at that time. We can cooperate by providing interviews (online available) or comments.
Please let us know if we can be of any assistance in writing articles or producing programs.
JRCS Response in the Earthquake
The JRCS implements humanitarian relief activities based on its mission to "protect life, health, and human dignity."
In addition, the Disaster Relief Act stipulates a "duty to cooperate in relief" for the national and prefectural governments, and it is also positioned as a "designated public institution" under the Basic Act on Disaster Management.
In this disaster as well, medical support teams, mainly relief squads, were dispatched from all over the country to the affected areas, and we engaged in various support activities tailored to on-site needs, such as medical treatment at aid stations and evacuation centers, psychological care, and distribution of relief supplies.
In this disaster, we focused not only on responding to direct deaths caused by the earthquake's tremors but also on preventing disaster-related deaths due to prolonged evacuation life.
Medical Relief
Medical relief, primarily conducted by relief squads, began activities from the hyper-acute phase following the foreshock. Over approximately two months until June 2, when the handover to local relevant organizations was completed, 207 relief squads were dispatched from nationwide. A total of 1,689 people were active, attending to 6,944 evacuees.
The relief squads conducted mobile clinics at evacuation centers and deployed dERUs (temporary clinics) equipped with medical equipment in Mashiki Town, Nishihara Village, and Minamiaso Village. Based in these locations, support personnel arriving from nationwide worked in shifts.
The infection control team of Kumamoto Red Cross Hospital, to address infectious diseases that became a concern as evacuation life prolonged, collaborated with the prefectural infection management network. They provided specialized knowledge and supplies to supporting relief squads and intervened in securing isolation spaces at each evacuation center in cooperation with local public health nurses.
Furthermore, to counter "economy class syndrome" caused by sleeping in cars or unaccustomed evacuation life, sonographers centered around the JRCS Kumamoto Health Management Center conducted 24-hour screenings for DVT (deep vein thrombosis), distributing elastic stockings and administering medication based on diagnosis results. As preventive activities, they held health gymnastics classes, unfolding various activities close to the affected people.