In areas affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake, member companies of construction industry organizations are working to clear and restore roads. Makara Construction Company (Kanazawa City, President: Takuji Makara), operating through the Ishikawa Prefectural Construction Industry Association, is also working to clean up and restore the affected areas. President Magara, who serves as the association's executive director, emphasized, ``What the construction industry can do to restore normalcy as soon as possible is to contribute to the recovery and reconstruction of infrastructure society.''
Clearing roads in natural disaster areas (provided by Ishikawa Kenkyo)
The company established a disaster response headquarters on the evening of the 1st, the day of the earthquake. Using a safety validation system introduced as a BCP (Business Continuity Plan) measure, we completed the safety validation of almost all employees on the same day. On the 3rd, we clearly identified the disaster situation, including the employees' families, and evacuated to empty rooms in the company's housing complex.
Damage investigation at the scene was also conducted quickly. While contacting customers, we confirmed the damage situation at all locations south of Kanazawa City on the 3rd. In the Noto area, where surrounding roads were cut off, surveys were conducted. inspection of major facilities was completed on the 5th. Although emergency restoration efforts are underway first for facilities that are highly public in nature and need urgent restoration, such as incinerators garbage, but the situation is still not enough to pay for private facilities.
Recovery operations are currently underway, with Disaster Response Headquarters playing a central role in collaborating with each business location. Supplies such as green bedsheets, water and emergency food were sent to the Kanazawa headquarters from both the Tokyo and Osaka offices. Support staff are also rushing to locations south of Kanazawa City, where operations continue as usual.
In addition to responding to private customers, we will also work to restore damaged infrastructure. The company affiliated with the Kanazawa Construction Industry Association sent two teams on the same day through Ishikawa Kenkyo and received the prefecture's request to open the road on the 2nd.
Ishikawa Kenkyo generally had four teams sent on the 3rd, 8 teams on the 4th, and more than 10 teams from the 5th onwards. They gathered at prefectural local agencies and Satoyama Airport (Wajima City) and traveled to each location under the direction of prefectural officials who were aware of the damage to infrastructure.
As part of an effort to streamline recovery efforts, the Kanazawa Construction Industry Association has adopted a system in which heavy equipment is left in the affected area and only personnel are replaced, instead of bringing each member company's heavy equipment to the site. We have established a rotation system that will allow us to send six to seven teams per day until the end of February.
Chairman Magara recalled: ``When the disaster happened, I worried about the safety of our employees.'' After confirming his safety, he said: ``I delegated matters of the company to the executives and mainly work for the association's activities. Members stayed in their cars, prepared their own food and worked hard to clear the roads.'' When it came to future comprehensive restoration, he pointed to the following issues: ``Damaged roads seriously damaged and uneven surface, making it difficult to transport large heavy machinery. Geographic conditions also make attacking from there impossible. every direction.''
