Japan struggles to help victims of the worst floods in decades

Power has been restored to all but 3,500 households but more than 200,000 people remain without water under the hot sun.

KURASHIKI: Japan fought Tuesday to restore public services Thirty-six people lost their lives and 155 people lost their lives, while rescuers continued to look for victims.

Torrential rains caused floods and landslides in western Japan last week. especially in neighborhoods built decades ago near steep slopes. According to the government, about 67 people are missing.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled a trip abroad to face the disaster, which repeatedly forced several million people to leave their homes. but more than 200,000 people remain without water in the hot sun, with temperatures reaching 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) in some of the most affected areas, such as Kurashiki City.

"There have been requests for installation" Due to rising temperatures above 30 degrees today, and at the same time, we must restore the lines of life, "he said. Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting

Stunned Survivors Told Close Escapes

"It was close. If we had been five minutes later, we would not have done it, "said Yusuke Suwa, who fled by car with his wife early Saturday, when an evacuation order came after midnight [19659009"ItwasdarkandwecouldnotseeclearlywhatwasgoingoneventhoughweknewthewaterwasflowingoutWedidnotrealizethatitwasbecomingabigproblem"

A district of Mabi district of Kurashiki, landlocked between two rivers, was flooded after the collapse of a dike under the force of the torrent

set aside 70 billion yen ( $ 631 million) in infrastructure funds with 350 billion yen ($ 3.15 billion) in reserve, Aso added, adding that an additional budget would be considered if necessary

consider an additional budget later if these funds turn out to be insufficient. "

Japan issues early weather warnings, but its dense population means that almost every usable parcel of land, including some floodplains, is built in the country the most mountainous.

"Decades Without Disaster"

Some inhabitants of Mabi had ignored the warnings given following the history of the region's floods.

"We had evacuation orders before and nothing happened, Kenji Ishii, 57, who stayed at home with his wife and son.

But they were soon abandoned by the flood of waters and a military boat had to tear them off the second floor of their house, where they had taken refuge

Most deaths in Hiroshima, one of the hardest hit prefectures, came from landslides in areas where houses had been built against steep slopes, from the 1970s, said Takashi Tsuchida, professor of civil engineering at Hiroshima University.

"The people have been living in a latent risk area for 40 to 50 years, but decades have gone by without disaster, "he said," heavy rains have become more frequent and hidden vulnerability has become evident, "he said. , adding that people live in many z dangerous ones

Although the weather has cleared up, the catastrophe continues.

A new evacuation order came out Tuesday in a part of Hiroshima Another storm, Typhoon Maria, was sweeping over the outer islands of the Okinawa Range but it had weakened following a super typhoon and should not have any impact. on the four main islands of Japan