Assessment and psychological care practices for children after the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake

The Kumamoto earthquake, which had a foreshock on April 14, 2016, and the main shock on April 16, had two seismic intensities of 6- and three seismic intensities of 6- (as of January 31, 2017). Another major feature of this earthquake was the more than 4,300 aftershocks that occurred in one year. This paper summarizes how the teachers and staff at A Elementary School, which sustained severe damage from the Kumamoto earthquake, responded to the restoration of school education immediately after the disaster, and how they have been involved in the "mental care" of students who were deeply hurt by the disaster, based on three stages of psychological support services. When responding to disasters and providing mental care, it is necessary to prepare planned and step-by-step response measures from the perspective of prediction and forecasting for disaster responses during peacetime.