WNAM REPORT: Severe stress and exhaustion caused by evacuation following earthquakes and other natural disasters have claimed over 5,400 lives across Japan over the past 30 years.
At least 5,456 “disaster-related deaths” have been documented since local governments began such designation following the Great Hanshin Earthquake in western Japan on Jan. 17, 1995, according to a recent tally by the Tokyo-based Kyodo News released on Saturday.
It includes deaths linked to the Noto Peninsula quake last year. The number of disaster-related deaths linked to the Noto Peninsula quake on New Year’s Day in 2024 totaled 276.
The actual number of disaster-related deaths, however, is believed to be higher than documented, as families are required to apply for the designation.
The number of disaster-related deaths exceeded those caused directly, such as by the collapse of buildings, in massive earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture in 2016 and the Noto Peninsula quake.
Some 921 deaths were classified as disaster-related after an outbreak of infectious diseases including influenza in evacuation centers, following the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
Following the 2004 earthquake that hit Niigata Prefecture, some people who slept in their cars were found to have died of venous thrombosis, also known as economy class syndrome, when blood clots form due to prolonged immobility.
Some 3,802 disaster-related deaths were reported as many people were forced to move from one evacuation site to another, after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan and subsequent meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Prolonged stays in evacuation shelters, disruptions to electricity and water supplies, as well as a deterioration in care provided by welfare and medical facilities, are among the factors cited as causing such deaths in the region, which is home to many elderly people.
