9 found dead in Iwate home for elderly after typhoon

I know we don't have much information about this at present, but 9 dead? What were the staff doing?

I really hope the staff didn't abandon these poor people when the water started rising.

Don't know the details yet. But so sad. Have to make sure this never happens again.

One thing I do know - there are many homes that really skimp on staff etc to make more profits. I hope that wasn't a contributing factor here - but it's plausible in other places I know about.

So many questions, how do people die in a nursing home? Were they abandoned and left to die? Where is the staff?

We have all known this typhoon was coming for quite a while? Not like there was no time to move people away from danger

Some other questions to follow up on if media existed. Did the nursing home not have an emergency plan? Do others? Is there any ministry interest in their supposed area of expertise?

I'm a careworker also and please don't tell that the staff abandon the elders and left to die. Most of the home for the elders are short of staff and night shifts have only two careworkers attending almost 50 elders all through the night!! As they want to save all of them, how can 2 or 3 staffs can save 50 people, most of them have alzheimers and bound in a wheelchair??

I'm having trouble picturing this... was the flooding like a tsunami?

Watching on TV the home that they died in is by a river under a hill. Just the kind of place that is likely to flood. Does not seem to be any excuse for this sorry Cherry. I do appreciate the work you do though not many of us would do it

Cherry Herrera Ogoshi - Most of the home for the elders are short of staff and night shifts have only two careworkers attending almost 50 elders all through the night!!

And, there is the reason so many died! These so-called 'care centers' are understaffed and many of the staff are undertrained. Did they not have practiced evacuation procedures? Every company, school and hospital I know of Japan often do evacuation drills. It seems somebody has neglected their duty of care in this case.

Trying to move 50 patients with only a hand full of staff, without back up i.e. transport, new place to go to is very difficult. But either way its very sad, and this could have possibly avoided.

I saw this today on the TVs in "Donkey Hote" . The building looked undamaged, but there was a lot of mud and trees piled against one side. It seemed like it got hit by a landslide, but it could have been a flood.

Disillutioned, for your information YES all of care centers all around Japan i think are understaffed if that's what you want to know and yes we are trained for evacution situations, try to work as a careworker so that you will know from their perspectives! many came to work but as quick as they came, they arealso quick to resign due to stress, depression and other reason i dont know! so before you say that somebody neglected their duties you better go and ask all the care centers out there!

Just backing up what Cherry said. I don't know details but my first thought was that if there was an urgent need to move patients then there would probably be only two on night shift.

Can you imagine two people trying to move patients.

And the reason just comes down to profits.

Most of the people working in that industry are angels. Underpaid, under appreciated and on top of that there are many foreigners who have to upgrade qualifications - and that means tests in Japanese.

I'm sure the care workers are the most devastated today.

thank you gaijinpapa...its heartbreaking to see this kind of news i feel really sorry for the elders and i hope it doesnt happen to where i work right now...:(

@ Cherry and Gaijinpapa - I worked as a CNA and later as Social Services in care centers in LA. We were trained, in the event of an emergency (fire), to first evacuate the residents who needed the least assistance. It sounds cold blooded, but that's the best way to save the most people. Some of the residents (for example) would have to be hoisted from their beds, and that takes time.

Where were the staff? Were there enough staff on duty? Were there proper evacuation procedures and policies in place for the residents? This shouldn't have happened. Care on on the cheap, means cutting corners. I bet that's what happened here. I hope those responsible face criminal charges.

Of course, this article is sorely lacking in details. We don't know how suddenly this happened, and whether there was time to evacuate. And if it happened on night shift, there would be fewer staff on duty. as most residents would be sleeping.

Perhaps the bodies are those of the care workers...? The idea they knew the typhoon was going to hit that area directly, cause flooding in that area and flood that building is ridiculous. We were supposed to have been hit by the typhoon and my kids' schools were closed. The typhoon missed our area. I feel for those who died and their families.

Listen to and read the statements that the operator of the nursing home made.