Continued help sought in Kumamoto amid volunteer shortage

Continued help sought in Kumamoto amid volunteer shortage

As the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto recovers from a powerful earthquake, a volunteer center is asking for more people to step forward.

The July quake registered an intensity of upper 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to 7 in the city of Yatsushiro. The volunteer center in the city says on some days the number of people helping out is down by nearly half.

Since the center was set up in August, about 8,700 volunteers have helped clean up houses and move out damaged furniture.

There were about 200 volunteers on Sunday, and five of them visited a house where a cabinet had fallen over. The 72-year-old man who lives in the house said the cabinet was too heavy for him and his wife to move on their own, so he was really grateful for the help and relieved it has been cleaned up.

A 29-year-old volunteer who came from Tokyo said his grandparents live in Kumamoto so he wanted to do something to help, adding that the work was also a valuable experience for himself.

The center says it has received about 1,500 requests for assistance, but the number of volunteers has been gradually declining, and is especially low on weekdays, dropping by almost half of last month's level to around 100 people per day.

An official from the city's social welfare council asked for continued support, saying many residents affected by the quake still need help.