US military airlifts 33,000 water bottles to Kumamoto quake victims
A KC-130 carried 16 tonnes of water from Yokota Air Base, with Japanese forces set to distribute the supplies to people affected by the July 28 earthquake.
- The US military airlifted about 33,000 bottles of drinking water to assist victims of the July 28 earthquake in Kumamoto, Japan.
- A military KC-130 aircraft transported the 16-tonne shipment from the U.S. Air Force's Yokota Air Base to a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto.
- Japan's Self-Defense Forces will handle the final distribution of the water to affected residents from relief-supply management centers.
- Officials from both Japan and the US characterized the aid as a demonstration of the strong alliance and friendship between the two nations.
The US military airlifted about 33,000 bottles of drinking water to Kumamoto Prefecture on Sunday (August 9), providing aid for people affected by the powerful earthquake that struck south-western Japan on July 28.
A military KC-130 carried the approximately 16-tonne shipment from the US Air Force’s Yokota Air Base in Tokyo to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Vice-Camp Takayubaru in Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture.
The Self-Defense Forces will transport the water by road to relief-supply management centres, from where it will be distributed to people affected by the earthquake.
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters on Sunday that the US assistance demonstrated the strength of the ties between Japan and the United States.
He added that it showed the cooperative relationship developed during peacetime was working effectively to support disaster victims.
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass observed the airlift operation at Vice-Camp Takayubaru before visiting the Kumamoto prefectural government office.
He was accompanied by Lt Gen Stephen Jost, commander of US Forces Japan, for a meeting with Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura.
Glass told the governor that it was a great honour for the United States to assist Japan, which he described as an ally and friend.
He also said his country was very pleased to have been able to respond to the Japanese government’s request for support.
US Forces Japan previously conducted the large-scale Operation Tomodachi after a powerful earthquake and tsunami severely affected the north-eastern Tohoku region in March 2011.
“Tomodachi” means “friend” in Japanese.
The US military also used transport aircraft to deliver relief supplies following the major Kumamoto earthquakes in April 2016 and the powerful Noto Peninsula earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, in January 2024.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
