【12日じゅうににち 大雨おおあめ被害ひがい】九州きゅうしゅうで3人さんにん死亡しぼう 土砂崩どしゃくずれや川かわの氾濫はんらん

Due to the effects of the front, record-breaking heavy rain has fallen in Kyushu. According to the prefectures of Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Fukuoka, three deaths have been confirmed so far as a result of landslides and river flooding.

Also, in Ishikawa Prefecture, a road collapsed, causing a car to fall and injuring three people.

We are reporting the damage situation for each prefecture.

Yatsushiro City has announced that a woman in her 70s, who was found in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest inside a car submerged in an irrigation canal in the city, has been confirmed dead.

One man who had been in cardiopulmonary arrest after being caught in a landslide in Kosa Town has also been confirmed dead, bringing the number of deaths in the prefecture due to the recent heavy rain to two.

Also, the prefecture says that three people are missing.

In Kita Ward, Kumamoto City, two vehicles were swept into a river, and one man who was in one of the vehicles is still missing.

On the other hand, regarding road damage, the slope between Bridge No. 2 and Bridge No. 3 on National Route 266 in Matsushima Town, Kami-Amakusa City had collapsed, resulting in a road closure, but restoration work progressed and the road was fully reopened to traffic at midnight on the 12th.

689 people are also taking shelter in 13 cities, towns, and villages.

Yukimi Shiraishi 85, who lives alone in Tsuboi, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, returned home from her evacuation site shortly after 9 a.m. on the 12th.

The water has already receded inside the house, but there are marks on the walls up to about 50 centimeters above the floor showing where the water reached. The carpet is stained with mud, and storage boxes are scattered around. Ms. Shiraishi gazed at the state of the room with tears in her eyes.

Mr. Shiraishi felt in danger when the water level of the retention basin in front of his house was rising around 11 p.m. on the 10th, so he rushed out of his house aiming for a shelter, but the road in front of his house was already flooded.

Even after an hour, Shiraishi-san was only able to move about 100 meters and became stuck. Feeling like, I might die here, she escaped to the raised parking area of a private home and called her daughter for help.

And then, the fire department, alerted by his daughter, rushed to the scene and rescued him. He spent the night taking shelter on the second floor of a nearby house.

Mr. Shiraishi said, I was stunned when I saw the damage to my house, and right now I cant think about anything.

I had never experienced rain like this before, so I couldnt have imagined something like this would happen, they said.

In Misato Town, Water Supply Activities Continue in Four Areas Due to Ongoing Water Outages In Misato Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, measures were taken to prevent muddy water caused by heavy rain from entering the water storage tanks. As a result, water outages have continued since the 11th, and as of noon on the 12th, approximately 670 households in eight districts are affected.

For this reason, the town set up water supply stations at four locations on the 12th and is providing water.

Of these, at the Bussankan Yonnasse, residents visited one after another from the morning, bringing empty plastic bottles and other containers to fill them with water.

In addition, four 500-milliliter bottles of water were also distributed to each person for drinking.

The man in his seventies who visited said, When I was about to take a bath, the water stopped coming out.

Ive lived here for about 70 years, and this is the first time something like this has happened, so Im confused.

I hope it will be restored soon, they said.

According to the town, on the 12th, water will be supplied until 7 p.m. at the Bussankan Yonnasse, Tsutsukawasou, and Natsumi Container Collection Point, and all night at the Toyo Government Office.

The town aims to complete restoration by the 12th, but warns that it may take even longer depending on the situation, and is urging residents to use the water supply stations.

According to the shop owner, around 5 a.m. on the 11th, they started scooping up the water that had flowed into the store with buckets, but in about an hour and a half, the water level suddenly rose, flooding up to below their knees. As a result, four refrigerators used to store ingredients and other items broke down, among other damages.

After that, they hired a contractor to pump out the water, and it was in the evening of the 11th when the water finally receded from inside the store.

The store will be temporarily closed as it needs to be cleaned up and renovated.

On the 12th, the store owner was busy cleaning up, but regular customers who were worried about the damage visited the shop.

A regular customer in his seventies said, Its a shame that theyre closed, but I hope they reopen soon.

Masato Nakagawa, the owner of the café, said, I was just so surprised.

Ive been in business for 50 years, but this was my first time experiencing something like this.

I want to do my best to reopen with a positive attitude, they said.

At this farm, we had just planted the seedlings five days ago in preparation for shipping in the fall, but since they became submerged in water, we are concerned that root rot and other issues may occur, which could affect their growth.

Mr. Ryo Nakagawa from the farm said, At the time, I was working on drainage, but the rainfall was so heavy that there was nothing I could do on my own.

Also, at an agricultural greenhouse in Gunchiku Jūbanmachi, Yatsushiro City, about 10,000 mini tomato seedlings that had not yet been planted were damaged by flooding.

As of the morning of the 12th, many of the seedlings in pots were still submerged in water, and farmers were using pumps to drain the water.

Farmer Nobuyuki Miyahara said, Ive been farming for about 40 years, but this is the first time Ive suffered such damage. It may be difficult for the seedlings that were submerged in water to grow healthily.

He said, Its tough because the machines have also been flooded.

The police and fire department believe that two people, a man and a woman in their 60s, were swept away, and about 50 personnel have continued the search since around 9 a.m. on the 12th.

A 60-year-old company employee who lives along the river said, Trees that flowed down from upstream got caught on the bridge, which changed the flow of the river, and then muddy torrents came rushing in.

I heard that some of the nearby houses were flooded above floor level, and the river was flowing rapidly, he said.

However, each local government is continuing its investigation, so the number of damages may increase.

For this reason, we have been unable to cook rice or wash dishes, and have been forced to temporarily close since the 8th of this month.

During the Obon season, it is usually crowded with families, including reservations, but this year, they had no choice but to turn down reservations and even had to discard some of the ingredients they had prepared.

Mr. Hidekazu Masumaru, who runs a restaurant, said, I want to know exactly when the water supply will be restored.

I’m most troubled by not being able to open for business during Obon, when families come to visit, he said.

A total of three vehicles—two passenger cars and one trailer—that were driving near the scene fell, resulting in a man in his 70s suffering serious injuries including broken bones, and men in their 30s and 60s were also injured.

The police are investigating the situation in detail, believing that the road collapsed due to heavy rain.

According to Ishikawa Prefecture, about a 2-kilometer section of National Route 249 in Nanao Citys Nakajima area is closed to traffic, and the prefecture and other authorities plan to proceed with restoration work once the weather improves.

The Suzu Road is a prefectural road connecting Anamizu Town and Suzu City. According to Ishikawa Prefecture, due to heavy rain, a slope beside the road in Ohtawara, Noto Town, collapsed over a width of about 20 meters and a height of about 6 meters.

For this reason, from 6 a.m. on the 12th, about a 500-meter section around the collapsed area has been closed to traffic.

There is a detour route near the closed section, so Ishikawa Prefecture is directing traffic to the detour and working to remove the collapsed earth and sand in order to restore the Suzu Road.

According to the prefecture, as of 11 a.m., there is no prospect for restoration yet.