Japan struggles to deliver relief to victims
> 155 dead in its worst flood disaster since 1982
TOKYO: Japan struggled yesterday to restore utilities and bring relief to the victims of its worst flood disaster since 1982, facing health risks from broiling temperatures and a lack of water, while rescuers kept up an increasingly grim search for victims.
Torrential rains unleashed floods and landslides in western Japan last week, killing 155 and prompting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to cancel an overseas trip to deal with the disaster, which at one point forced several million from their homes.
About 67 people are missing, the government said.
Power supply has resumed to all but 3,500 customers, but more than 200,000 remain without water under scorching sun, with temperatures set to hit 33°C in some of the hardest-hit areas, such as the city of Kurashiki.
“There have been requests for setting up air-conditioners due to rising temperatures above 30°C, and at the same time we need to restore lifelines,” finance minister Taro Aso said.
Roads coated in dried mud in the Mabi district of Kurashiki threw up clouds of dust when rescue vehicles or cars drove by. Survivors recounted narrow escapes.
“It was close. If we had been five minutes later, we would not have made it,” said Yusuke Suwa, who fled by car with his wife early on Saturday when an evacuation order came after midnight.
“It was dark and we could not see clearly what was happening, although we knew water was running outside. We did not realise it was becoming such a big deal.”
A quarter of flood-prone Mabi, sandwiched between two rivers, was inundated after a levee crumbled under the force of last week’s torrents.
A new evacuation order went out yesterday in a part of Hiroshima after a river blocked by debris overflowed its banks, affecting 23,000 people.
The government has set aside ¥70 billion (RM2.5 billion) in infrastructure funds to respond to disasters, with ¥350 billion in reserve, Aso said.
Japan monitors weather conditions and issues warnings early, but its dense population means every bit of usable land, including potential flood plains, is built on in the mostly mountainous country, leaving it prone to disasters.
Some residents of Mabi had shrugged off the warnings.
“We had evacuation orders before and nothing happened, so I just thought this was going to be the same,” said Kenji Ishii, 57, who ignored an order and stayed in his home with his wife and son.
A military boat plucked them from the second floor of the house, where they had fled to escape the rising waters. – Reuters