Japan: besieged by a summer of earthquakes, floods, typhoons and heat

One resident, 17-year-old Tenma Takimoto, was waiting for the discovery of her sister – she was finally found by a rescuer who had to dig with her bare hands. Takimoto, who was also injured in one leg, told him, "You did good, you were patient enough."

Kenichi Endo, 70, had gone to the small town to find his relative, reported the Japanese news agency Jiji. "I did not expect a landslide after an earthquake," he said.

The report indicates that the first floor of the two-man house, which he shared with his wife, was submerged in mud. Endo said that he loved his relative, who is 80, "like a brother".

The energy that was cut to millions of homes began to return on Friday, and the nearby Shin Chitose Airport, closed due to the earthquake, resumed partial operations.

All domestic flights, as well as several international flights, should be back on Saturday.

«Go back»

The summer of chaos in Japan has seen the country endure weeks of deadly floods, typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and heat waves, in which the experts in disaster management feel like a sign of what is coming.

Thursday's earthquake came days after the strongest typhoon hit the Japanese mainland in 25 years broke an oil tanker in a bridge, forcing one of the country's largest airports to close and hundreds canceled flights. The storm caused at least 10 deaths.

This is a series of deadly natural disasters that have affected Japan since July. "Consecutive events seem to have fought each other to keep up," Senior Scientific Advisor Doug Bausch of Hawaii's Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) told CNN.

Two months ago, landslides and floods caused by torrential rains across Japan – from Saga in the extreme southwest to Gifu in the center of the main island of Honshu – killed 200 people in what has become one of the most deadly natural disasters. since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The heavy rains that caused flash floods were based on a long-term trend, said Munehiko Yamaguchi of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

On the basis of 30-year surface observations, the number of torrential rains in Japan is increasing, he added. Seismologist Robert Geller, professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo, said he was in danger of getting worse.

"We should stop saying" extreme "and face the fact that it is probably the new norm," he said.

He added that although climate change is unlikely to have an impact on the earthquakes themselves, heavy rains can make landslides worse – as we saw in Hokkaido – and worsen conditions.

Bausch, an impact modeller who tries to predict the effect of natural disasters, said what he had seen in recent years had "dwarf effects on everything that had been seen before."

& # 39; Caught by surprise & # 39;

The flood was one of the most alarming events of the summer in Japan.

"Japan is a well-prepared country, caught off guard and having a number of casualties probably took them by surprise," said Bausch.

The floods occurred as whole swaths of the country went through the hot temperatures of summer.

In Kumagaya, a city near Tokyo, mercury reached 41.1 degrees (105.98 F), the highest record ever recorded in Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, nearly 12 degrees higher than the average of this period.

According to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, nearly 110 million people out of the 128 million Japanese have been affected by the heat wave, including about 90 percent of the extreme heat.

Globally, the average temperature at the surface of land and oceans for the first three months of the year was the sixth longest since the start of global surveys in 1880.

Fingers indicate climate change

Disaster prevention experts believe that it is difficult to identify a specific cause for an event, but the trend towards more frequent weather events indicates that climate change is the main cause.

"If we go back far enough, we can see things happening on these lines, but overall, we are certainly seeing more extreme events because the oceans are warming up, there is more moisture in the ocean. 39; atmosphere, "said Bausch.

He added that, in addition to the increasing number of fatal events associated with warmer summers, winters are also becoming more extreme.

Japan has been somewhat protected by the worst weather, because of its richness and preparation.

"I think such events would be catastrophic in countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh," said Bausch. "There have been, in recent history, tens of thousands of deaths in events like these."

So what is it that can be done?

Yamaguchi said his agency was seeking to change the focus of warning systems – from the mere announcement of weather conditions to the definition of risks – for example, warn of floods and landslides, rather than just warning of strong rains.

"How to transmit (the impact of) this meteorological information to the public is a challenge but we have made great progress," he said.

Disaster management agencies in Japan and abroad learn every time that there is a natural disaster.

"In 2011, the tsunami was bigger than expected, there were more deaths and the evacuation areas and safe areas were not big enough.

"(They) really under-designed for this, everyone has heard that all over the world these lessons are learned inside and outside of Japan," Bausch said.