Nearly 1,300 stay in makeshift housing 6 months after Kyushu heavy rains

January 5, 2018

Fukuoka- Nearly 1,300 people are still staying in makeshift housing facilities in northern areas of the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan, six months after heavy rains caused massive floods and landslides there on July 5, leaving 40 people dead and two missing.

In the disaster, 2,502 buildings were affected in Fukuoka Prefecture, with 274 of them destroyed, while 1,991 buildings were damaged in the neighboring prefecture of Oita.

As of Thursday, a total of 1,108 people in 449 families in Fukuoka and 186 people in 71 families in Oita stayed in temporary housing.

The 40 victims include a man in his 80s who died of indirect causes in the Fukuoka city of Asakura.

Damage from the disaster, including to roads and the farming sector, totaled about 194.1 billion yen in Fukuoka and 28.9 billion yen in Oita.

Kyushu Railway Co.'s Hitahikosan Line, which connects the two prefectures, remains partially out of service, due to damage to a bridge and other sections. It remains uncertain when the local line will be fully resumed, while costs for the recovery work are estimated at 7 billion yen, according to the company. Jiji Press