Area in Hiroshima Suffers Damage from Heavy Rains Again

July 11, 2018

Hiroshima- Massive damage from torrential rains occurred again in Asakita Ward in the western Japan city of Hiroshima despite local disaster control efforts that followed downpours four years ago.

The August 2014 heavy rains that caused landslides in many areas left 77 people dead, 68 others injured and 396 houses damaged in Asakita and neighboring Asaminami Ward.

Hiroshima Prefecture has 29,086 areas designated as landslide-prone, one of the largest across the country. Hazard maps that include information about evacuation centers need to be drawn up in such areas so that residents are aware of the danger.

Following the 2014 disaster, the land ministry built 25 landslide-control dams in 24 rivers in the city of Hiroshima as emergency projects.

But Asakita's Kuchitaminami district, which suffered major damage from heavy rains over the weekend, is located far from areas afflicted by the 2014 downpours and was not covered by the projects.

After the 2014 disaster, the Hiroshima prefectural government accelerated its designation of landslide hazardous areas.

In February, the prefectural government pointed out dangerous spots in Kuchitaminami to local residents. It designated the district as a hazardous area the following month.

But a hazard map for the district was planned to be available later this fiscal year. Jiji Press