An elderly woman in her 90s has been rescued from under the rubble of a two-story house more than five days after a powerful earthquake struck Japan.
Rescuers found the woman in Suzu City in Ishikawa prefecture on Saturday evening – 124 hours after the quake struck – and took her to a nearby hospital, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.
On Sunday, a doctor told reporters that the woman is well enough to have conversations, but her legs are injured.
Kume Takanori, a member of the emergency rescue team, told NHK that the woman’s knees had been stuck under furniture within a very narrow space between the first and second floor. It took hours to free her, Takanori said.
Old people are really built differently in Japan. When I was there I took the path to the top of the Inari Shrine mountain, there was a pretty steep part with lots of steps I had to stop mid way and nearly die on the side. I looked to the side and saw an old man skipping up the steps like it was nothing.
That’s because the entire country is one giant ADA violation. Disabled folk do NOT matter there.
p.s. I am well aware of what the ADA is, lacks, and what country it applies to for anyone trying to be cute
ADA is an American thing that sets a standard for disabled people (ex. Rules for wheelchair ramps, braile usage, accessibility of public spaces).
Japan has some broadly similar rules to help for example vision impared people, but most public spaces are still not friendly to those in wheelchairs, or with certain disabilities. I’ve seen elevators that are only accessible after you walk up some stairs, or train stations that simply have no working elevators.
