A non-profit organization in Wajima City, which was devastated by the New Year's Day earthquake, has started providing accommodation for volunteers who are helping with the city's cleanup and other recovery efforts.

The city in Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan began accepting volunteers on February 10. But due to a shortage of water supply and the limited availability of lodging in the city, volunteers had to commute from Kanazawa City by bus each day which reduced the amount of time they could spend on their activities.

The NPO, Wajima Asaichi, has now prepared a two-story building for volunteers to stay in. The building had been used as a warehouse.

One of the volunteers is a university student from Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. He says he expected their accommodation would be similar to sleeping outside but that he does not feel inconvenienced in the building.

On Saturday, three volunteers lodging there worked with staff of a confectionary shop to salvage wrapping paper and other goods from a warehouse whose roof had collapsed.

Nakaura Masakatsu of the NPO says volunteers are able to do a lot more if they stay in the city and don't have to commute. He says the organization is looking for more places where other volunteers will be able to stay.