|
By JOSEPH COLEMAN, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO
(AP) - Just four months ago, they lived on a Pacific Ocean
island known for scuba diving and dolphin viewing, not superhighways
or smokestacks.
Then
the volcano at the center of Miyake island began erupting,
and six weeks ago the last of its 3,800 residents were evacuated
to crowded, congested Tokyo. No one knows when they'll return.
``We
can't go home until the volcanic activity stops,'' said
Tamiya Sugimoto, an official at Miyake Island's government
office on the outskirts of Tokyo and an evacuee himself.
``We just don't know, it all depends on nature.''
The
trouble started in July, when 2,686-foot Mount Oyama started
a series of eruptions that blanketed the island in thick
drifts of ash and rocks. Rain later set off mudslides.
The
last evacuees left the island 118 miles south of Tokyo in
September, leaving behind their homes and their livelihoods.
With Oyama still belching volcanic gas, officials say it
is too dangerous to go back.
Most
evacuees are living in rent-free city housing in the Japanese
capital, scraping by on savings, income from odd jobs or
the generosity of mainland relatives.
But
life in Tokyo has been tough for the islanders.
Employers
are reluctant to hire workers who could suddenly leave once
the evacuation order is lifted. And money donated to a fund
for the island has yet to reach the refugees.
The
Tokyo city government has just completed a survey of the
evacuees to find out where they are, and will now begin
assessing their needs and looking at ways to meet them,
Sugimoto said.
The
Miyake government has posted information for evacuees and
updates on conditions on the island on the Internet. And
residents have been posting messages on their plight as
well.
When
they are allowed back, some refugees won't have much to
return to. Homes have been damaged or destroyed, roads are
covered in ash or wrecked by mudslides, and gas and water
lines are broken.
|
