記事詳細
東日本大震災のとき、私は自宅で被災し、熊本県防災消防航空隊のヘリコプター「ひばり」に救出された。その後、ひばりに乗っていた西村澄生さん（震災当時の副隊長）と文通している。今年３月11日、西村澄生さんと隊員だった堀信昭さん、西村義盛さんと石巻で再会を果たすことができた。その後間もない４月16日、熊本県で最大震度７を観測する地震が起こった。そして10月、私は震災後の熊本を訪れることができた。
熊本県防災消防航空隊の元副隊長、西村澄生さんは東日本大震災での救助活動後、さまざまな場所で東日本大震災の体験、震災への心構えなどについて講演を行ってきた。10月2日、西村さんの三女が通う荒尾第三中学校で講演会が行われることになり、PTAのみなさんが私を招待してくれた。
熊本に到着し、最初に訪れたのは熊本県防災消防航空センター（熊本県益城町）。そこでは、石巻に救助に来てくれた隊員のみなさん、私たちを救助してくれたあの「ひばり」と再会した。航空センターの壁には、私たちが送った寄せ書きが掛けてあった。5年以上経った今でも大切にしてくれているのを見たときにはとても感動した。
次に熊本地震で甚大な被害を受けた益城町内を視察。地震から6カ月が経っても、倒壊したままの家がたくさんあり、地震発生後の状況がそのまま残されていて、被害の大きさを物語っていた。その後、私たちを救助してくれた堀信昭さんが住む御船町を訪れ、同町の藤木正幸町長にお会いした。御船町もまた大きな被害を受けたところである。実は、堀さんの自宅はこの地震で全壊した。藤木町長を訪ねたのには理由がある。私たちが集めた義援金と他の団体から預かった義援金を届けるためだ。「今回の地震は2つのＷが起こった震災でした」と藤木町長は話してくれた。2つのＷの1つめは、前震と本震の2つの大きな揺れが襲ったこと。前震により、多くの人々が外に出て避難所へ行ったり、車中泊をしたりしたそうだ。なかなか余震がおさまらず、避難生活を続けていたとき、本震が起こり多くの建物が倒壊した。だが、前震でたくさんの人が避難していたため、本震による死者は少なかったそうだ。その後も大きな余震が次から次へと襲い、家に帰ることができず、長い間避難生活を強いられた人が多かった。また、地震で地面に亀裂が入ったり、段差ができたり、交通網が寸断されただけでなく、水道も破損し水も使えなかったという。もう1つのＷは、地震による被害と大雨による被害が起きたこと。震災後、1時間に120㍉の雨が降った。地震でできた亀裂に水が入り、がけ崩れが道路や山で起こった。地震だけでなく大雨が降ったことで被害が倍増したのが今回の特徴だそうだ。「隣の家や近所の人とのつながりを増やし、昔のように、しょうゆを貸し借りするようなつながりを大切にし、復興へ進みたいと思います」という藤木町長の言葉が心に残った。
今回の取材で熊本のみなさん一人一人が震災を乗り越えて力強く歩んでいることを感じた。熊本が復興するには、まだまだ時間がかかることがわかったが、一日も早く日常が戻ることを願い、忘れずにいたい。
【取材・文】村松鈴音（門脇中学校３年生）
GAMADASE KUMAMOTO!
RETURNING THE KINDNESS FROM FIVE YEARS AGO
BRINGING THE CHEERFUL SPIRIT TO KUMAMOTO
When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, I was rescued from my house by the Kumamoto Prefectural Fire Fighting Disaster Prevention Air Corps on their helicopter, which was called the “HIBARI”. Since then, I have been exchanging letters with Mr. Sumio Nishimura, who was on the “HIBARI” then (and was also deputy chief at the time of the earthquake). This year on March 11th at Ishinomaki, I was able to meet once more with Mr. Nishimura as well as Mr. Nobuaki Hori and Mr. Yoshimori Nishimura, who worked with him. Not long after on April 16th, there was an earthquake in Kumamoto with a magnitude observed to be 7.0 at its highest. I was able to visit Kumamoto after the disaster in October. After the rescue operations of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Mr. Sumio Nishimura, ex-deputy chief in the Kumamoto Prefectural Fire Fighting Disaster Prevention Air Corps, started holding lectures in various parts of Japan about his experiences during the earthquake, about the mental preparation needed in the event of an earthquake, and more. I was invited by the people of the PTA to one of these lectures held on October 2nd at Arao Daisan Junior High School, which is the school attended by one of Mr. Nishimura’s daughters. The first place I visited once I arrived at Kumamoto was the Kumamoto Prefectural Fire Fighting Disaster Prevention Air Corps Centre (in Mashiki-machi, Kumamoto Prefecture). There, I was reunited with the team members who came to the rescue in Ishinomaki and the “HIBARI” helicopter that helped us. Hanging on the wall in the centre were the written messages that we had sent them. I was moved when I saw that they were taking such good care of them even now when over five years had passed. Next, I went to inspect Mashiki-machi, the area of which had been seriously damaged by the Kumamoto Earthquake. Even though six months had passed, there were still many collapsed houses and places that had been left as they were since the earthquake, showing the extent of the damages caused. After that, I visited Mifune-machi which was the home of Mr. Nobuaki Hori, who came to help us in Ishinomaki. There, I met with Mifune-machi’s mayor, Mayor Masayuki Fujiki. Mifune-machi also suffered heavily from the earthquake. In fact, Mr. Hori’s house was completely destroyed by the disaster. I visited Mayor Fujiki to deliver the donations we had raised as well as the donations from other organizations entrusted to us. “This earthquake was made up of a double-disaster.” Mayor Fujiki explained. The first of the double-disaster was the two large quakes caused by the foreshock and the mainshock that struck the area. It is said that many people went outside and headed towards the evacuation centres or spent the night in their cars because of the foreshock. As they remained evacuated while the aftershocks continued, the mainshock came and caused many houses to collapse. However, there were apparently few casualties caused by the mainshock as a lot of people had evacuated due to the foreshock. Large aftershocks continued afterwards, one after the other, and many people were unable to return home and were forced to continue living in a state of evacuation for a long time. On top of that, the earthquake had caused large cracks in the ground and made some parts of the ground uneven. It was said that this not only tore apart the transportation network, but also destroyed the water pipes, making running water unavailable. The second half of the double-disaster was the damages caused by the earthquake and the great amount of rainfall. After the earthquake, there was a rainfall of 120ml that lasted for an hour. The water seeped into the cracks made by the earthquake, and there were landslides in places like the roads and mountains. This doubling of the damages caused by both the earthquake and the large rainfall is said to be the distinguishing characteristic of this disaster. “I wish to move forward with the recovery while placing great importance on increasing ties with one’s neighbours and nearby neighbourhood, with people helping each other in times of need just like how they did long ago.” Mayor Fujiki’s words left a great impression in my heart. During this coverage, I felt that each and every person in Kumamoto was moving toward overcoming the earthquake with great strength. I learned that the recovery of Kumamoto will still take more time, but I hope for a return to normal life as soon as possible and would never want to forget.
Coverage and article: Rinne Muramatsu (Kadonowaki Junior High School, 3rd Grade)
Translation: Jennifer Hikari Dixon