2020 Kyushu floods
{{Short description|Floods in Japan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox flood
| name = 2020 Kyushu floods
{{nihongo|令和２年７月豪雨
||Heavy rain in July, Reiwa 2}}
| image = 熊本県内の雨量分布（レーダ）の推移（2020-07-03T10+09から2020-07-04T10+09）.gif
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Changing of rain-fall distribution in Kumamoto Prefecture
(time is shown on the bottom left)
| duration = {{start date|2020|07|04|df=y}} – 31 July 2020
| damages = ¥600 billion (US$5.67 billion)
| fatalities = 77 confirmed
| affected = Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures in the southern Japanese island of Kyushu
}}
The 2020 Kyushu floods were a series of floods in July 2020 brought on when record-breaking heavy rain hit the prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima, on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, on 4 July 2020 in the middle of the East Asian rainy season. The event is officially referred to as {{nihongo||令和２年７月豪雨|Reiwa ni-nen shichi-gatsu gōu|"Heavy rain of July, Reiwa 2"}} by the Japan Meteorological Agency.{{cite press release|title=令和２年７月３日からの豪雨の名称について|trans-title=About the name of the heavy rain|date=9 July 2020|url= https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/2007/09b/20200709_heavyrainname.html|language=Japanese}} As a result of flooding and landslides, 77 people were confirmed dead (includes 1 death due to cardiopulmonary arrest) and approximately seven are missing.豪雨被害 熊本県中心に77人死亡 7人行方不明
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200716/k10012518671000.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716202600/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200716/k10012518671000.html |date=16 July 2020 }} Fourteen of the victims were residents of an old age home in Kuma, Kumamoto that was flooded. Approximately 15,335 buildings were destroyed, damaged or flooded.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-07-16|title=令和2年7月豪雨による被害及び消防機関等の対応状況|url=https://www.fdma.go.jp/disaster/info/items/200709_ooame26.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716033839/https://www.fdma.go.jp/disaster/info/items/200709_ooame26.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2020 |access-date=2020-07-17|website=FDMA}} Damage was calculated at ¥600 billion (US$5.67 billion).{{cite press release|url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/report/press/mizukokudo03_hh_001107.html|title=令和2年水害被害額（確報値）を公表|work=Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism|date=31 March 2022|access-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331074620/https://www.mlit.go.jp/report/press/mizukokudo03_hh_001107.html|archive-date=31 March 2022|url-status=live|language=Japanese}}
Background
Typhoons, storms, and heavy flooding have hit Japan hard in the years prior to 2020. Aside from Hokkaido, the entire country is subject to the East Asian rainy season, known as Tsuyu (梅雨), during the early part of summer. The mountainous terrain of Japan places it at risk for flooding and landslides. These climate events have killed hundreds of people, and expert analysis has stated global warming is a contributing cause.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/world/asia/japan-rains-flooding-landslides.html|title=Severe Flooding in Southern Japan Swamps Nursing Home|first=Gerry|last=Mullany|date=4 July 2020|work=The New York Times}}
The Kuma River basin had previously flooded in 1965. One of three major rapids in Japan, the Kuma is a {{convert|115|km|mi|sp=us|adj=mid|-long}} class A river. Its course begins in the mountain range in Kyushu, and runs through Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto; Kuma, Kumamoto; and Yatsushiro, Kumamoto before it discharges into the Yatsushiro Sea.{{cite web|url=https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006653387|title=Kuma River floods cities after record rainfall|work=The Japan News|accessdate=4 July 2020|archive-date=4 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704202137/https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006653387|url-status=dead}}
Events
File:令和2年（2020年）7月3日からの大雨・斜め写真・球磨川地区（熊本県八代市、芦北町、球磨村）124A2643.jpg
On 4 July 2020, heavy rain caused flooding in the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. At 5 AM, local time (UTC+9) the Japan Meteorological Agency raised its heavy rain warning to its highest level of 3 in many parts of the prefectures, the first time it has ever done so for these areas. The Japan Meteorological Agency stated the amount of rain was record-breaking for the region and was never seen before. The rate of rainfall exceeded {{convert|100|mm|in|sp=us}} per hour.{{Cite web|url= https://apnews.com/9db72f673863802bddbbc1799450fafd|title=Japan floods leave up to 34 dead, many at nursing homes|date= 5 July 2020|website=AP News|accessdate=6 July 2020}}
As of 9 July 2020, 60 people are confirmed dead and approximately a dozen are reported missing.{{Cite web|last=Kyodo|first=Jiji|date=2020-07-09|title=Rescuers battle to reach thousands trapped by floods in Kyushu|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/09/national/kyushu-floods-rescue/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709032032/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/09/national/kyushu-floods-rescue/ |archive-date=9 July 2020 |access-date=2020-07-09|website=The Japan Times|language=en-US}} According to Kyodo News, 1.3 million people were ordered to evacuate their homes and there were 12 different landslide events.
Fourteen of the dead were residents in a flooded old age home in Kuma, Kumamoto.{{Cite web|url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53290211 |title=Many feared dead in flooded Japanese care home|date=4 July 2020 | work =BBC News}} Kumamoto governor Ikuo Kabashima stated that scores were stranded after mud and floodwater gushed into the old age home. According to a rescue volunteer, when they reached the old age home, the water was still on the first-floor level. The rescue personnel managed to rescue residents who had made it up to the second floor but were unable to reach those left below. According to the staff at the home, they roused residents at 5 a.m. and shuffled them upstairs. On the first floor, when water came into the building, they placed residents with wheelchairs on top of tables in the dining room. The staff was unable to rescue the deceased residents after water broke through the windows and the patients floated off the tables.{{Cite web|url=https://weather.com/news/news/2020-07-06-japan-flooding-kumamoto-kyushu-forecast-evacuations|title=Japan Warns of More Flooding as Toll Reaches at Least 44; Several Others Missing|website=The Weather Channel}}{{Cite news|first=Takuya |last=Arakaki|url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13520130|title=Male nurse racked by guilt at failure to save elderly residents|newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun|date=6 July 2020|accessdate=7 July 2020}}
Following overnight rains, authorities instructed more than 75,000 residents to evacuate in the prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima.{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-04/heavy-rain-floods-southern-japan/12422720|title=Heavy rain floods southern Japan, leaving many presumed dead, several missing|date=4 July 2020|publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation}} 203,200 residents were instructed to shelter in place, and 109 shelters were opened in the region.{{Cite web|url= https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/07/d937a4f28f92-75000-in-southwestern-japan-ordered-to-evacuate-due-to-heavy-rain.html|title=1 dead, 15 feared dead, 9 missing in rain, floods in southwest Japan |date=4 July 2020|accessdate=8 July 2020|website=Kyodo News+}}
The Kuma River overran its bank in eleven different locations and breached one levee.{{Cite web |url= https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/07/1b3d8f7c26a5-flooded-southwestern-japan-gets-more-rain-as-rescue-efforts-continue.html|title=Southwestern Japan hit by more heavy rain as death toll rises to 49|website=Kyodo News+|date=6 July 2020|accessdate=8 July 2020}} In Kuma, Kumamoto, stranded residents were rescued by a rescue helicopter. Eight homes were swept away in Ashikita, Kumamoto. In Tsunagi, Kumamoto, 2–3 people were pulled out of a landslide without signs of life. Some 8,000 homes were left without power in Kumamoto and Kagoshima according to the Kyushu Electric Power Company. Another 6,100 houses were estimated to be submerged, 11 bridges destroyed{{Cite web |title= Southwestern Japan hit by more heavy rain as death toll rises to 49|url= https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/07/1b3d8f7c26a5-flooded-southwestern-japan-gets-more-rain-as-rescue-efforts-continue.html|url-status=live |accessdate= 7 July 2020|work=Kyodo News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706111943/https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/07/1b3d8f7c26a5-flooded-southwestern-japan-gets-more-rain-as-rescue-efforts-continue.html |archive-date=6 July 2020 }} and 4,700 buildings destroyed, damaged or flooded.
A dike was breached near the town of Hitoyoshi, normally known for its hot springs and boating, which was flooded by the Kuma River. Volunteers from the local rafting association in Hitoyoshi used their rafts to rescue stranded residents in the flooded town. At least 17 people in Hitoyoshi died.{{cite news |title= Japanese rafters paddle against the floods amid torrential Kyushu rains |url= https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/japan-rain-flood-kyushu-island-kuma-river-raft-rescue-12908644 |agency= AFP |publisher= Channel News Asia |date= 7 July 2020 |access-date= 7 July 2020 |archive-date= 8 July 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200708141709/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/japan-rain-flood-kyushu-island-kuma-river-raft-rescue-12908644 |url-status= dead }}
On the morning of 7 July, the Chikugo River overflowed in Hita, Ōita leading authorities to issue the highest level alert to residents.{{cite news |title=At least 53 dead as torrential rains and floodwaters hit Kyushu |url= https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/07/national/rain-floods-kyushu/ |newspaper= The Japan Times|date=7 July 2020 |accessdate=8 July 2020}}
Effects
File:令和2年（2020年）7月3日からの大雨・斜め写真・球磨川地区（熊本県八代市、芦北町、球磨村）124A2490.jpg
The flooding has also disrupted economic activity in Kyushu, an important manufacturing area in Japan. Companies including Toyota, Canon, and Panasonic temporarily halted production in the area as a precaution for employee safety.{{Cite web|title= Deadly Japan floods halt factories across industrial base Kyushu|url= https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Natural-disasters/Deadly-Japan-floods-halt-factories-across-industrial-base-Kyushu |accessdate=7 July 2020|work=Nikkei Asian Review}} However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, in a statement on 6 July, said he did not expect major supply chain disruptions.
Evacuees and local officials raised concerns regarding emergency shelter given the simultaneously ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title= Local gov'ts fret over coronavirus spread at shelters after torrential rain |url= https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/07/65bfb5d12e23-local-govts-fret-over-virus-spread-at-shelters-after-torrential-rain.html|url-status=live |accessdate=7 July 2020|work=Kyodo News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706043212/https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/07/65bfb5d12e23-local-govts-fret-over-virus-spread-at-shelters-after-torrential-rain.html |archive-date=6 July 2020 }}{{Cite web|last=Submission|first=Internal|date=2020-07-09|title=Rescuers battle to reach thousands trapped by floods in Kyushu|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/09/national/kyushu-floods-rescue/|access-date=2020-07-29|website=The Japan Times|language=en-US}} Evacuees arriving at shelters had their temperatures checked, or were asked to go elsewhere so that social distancing could be maintained. Some evacuees chose to take refuge in their cars, while others stayed with friends. These measures follow recommendations created the previous month in June when government officials anticipated a possible "double disaster" of flooding and disease transmission.{{Cite news|last=Reynolds|first= Isabel |date=22 June 2020|title=Japan Braces for Double Disaster of Covid Outbreaks at Flooding Shelters| publisher = Bloomberg |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-22/japan-braces-for-double-disaster-of-covid-at-flooding-shelters |accessdate=7 July 2020}}
Government response
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the creation of a special task force, dispatched 10,000 Japan Self-Defense Forces troops to the area, and vowed to rescue the missing. On 5 July 2020, it was reported that 40,000 Self-Defense troops, Coast Guard sailors, and firemen were deployed in the rescue operation. On 7 July, the number of deployed SDF troops was doubled to 80,000.
On 7 July, Japanese authorities warned that further heavy rains were expected in Kyushu.{{cite news |title=Japan boosts rescue efforts as it warns of more rain in flood-hit areas |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-floods/japan-boosts-rescue-efforts-as-it-warns-of-more-rain-in-flood-hit-areas-idUSKBN2480CH |agency=Reuters |date=7 July 2020}}
See also
External links
- [https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/07/photos-deadly-flooding-japan/613933/ Photos: Deadly Flooding in Japan], The Atlantic, 8 July 2020. Collection of 23 photos of flood damage.
References
{{reflist}}{{2020 floods}}{{Authority control}}
Category:Natural disasters in Kagoshima Prefecture