Only a small fraction of blind people or those with visual impairments evacuated when deadly torrential rains hit western Japan last month, underscoring the physical and psychological hurdles such people face in times of disaster, a Kyodo News survey found Tuesday.
Six people were confirmed to have taken shelter at evacuation sites in the three hardest-hit prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima and Ehime, according to 10 organizations for blind or visually impaired people in the areas. The figure represents a small portion of some 1,410 people who were registered with the organizations.
Floods and mudslides caused by heavy rains left at least 226 people dead, mostly in those three prefectures.