Flood Drowned People

The scene reminded people of tragedy in New Orleans, devastated by Hurricane Katrina, in 2005. Heavy and extended rain destroyed levee of Kinugawa River and vast number of houses and rice pads in Joso City, Ibaraki, where were soaked in water on Thursday. As of Friday morning, twelve people were missed with landslides or drowned by the flood. While police, firemen and self-defense force were making every effort to save lives, politics continued struggling over scheduling of the security bills being discussed in the Diet in Tokyo.

In Tochigi Prefecture, located in the upper stream of Kinugawa River, it rained with over 600 millimeters within forty-eight hours to Thursday evening, exceeding average amount of rainfalls in every September. Levee of the river was breached at Joso by the heavy rain in the upper stream, the first disaster along the river these sixty-six years.

Few days before, Typhoon #18 was passing central Japan and #17 was approaching from east side. Although Kinugawa was not located under the course of the Typhoon, heavy rains were occurring on the east side of Typhoon these years. Ministry of Land, Transportation and Infrastructure tried to prevent flood with four dams in Kinugawa stream. But, extraordinarily heavy rain exceeded the capacity of them.

Japan Meteorological Agency issued a special warning to Ibaraki Prefecture, where Joso was located, in Thursday morning. Although the situation in Ibaraki was not sufficient for issuing special warning, the agency decided to do that with consideration of heavy rain in the upper stream. Local prefectural governments are mandated to inform their residents of possible danger of disaster. Although residents around the breached levee was recommended to evacuate in the morning, some failed to evacuate.

Drainage basin of Kinugawa River was located between two typhoons moving northward around Japan. Rain cloud could find no way to go, being caught between them. That accumulated cloud caused long-time rain there. JMA could not predict the disaster from weather chart. Natural disaster these years have apparently been stronger than expert’s expectation.

Nevertheless, politics seems to be incompetent in saving people’s life from natural disaster. There was no declaration of emergency from the central government. Main focus in Nagatacho on Thursday was organizing new fraction in Liberal Democratic Party to succeed Shinzo Abe administration or about when new security bills should be passed in the Diet. They should have interrupted their political trivial struggle and taken measures to rescue isolated people in the storm.