Typhoon Lionrock Victims Remembered in Japan on 2nd Anniversary

August 30, 2018

Iwaizumi, Iwate Pref.- A ceremony was held on Thursday at the former site of an elderly care home in Iwaizumi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, to mourn for its nine residents killed in Typhoon Lionrock two years ago.

Some 60 people offered a moment of silence during the ceremony, hosted by medical corporation Ryokusenkai, which operated the Ranran home. Bereaved family members were not present at the event.

"We have called on our staff members to improve antidisaster awareness so that we will not repeat the tragedy," Ryokusenkai executive Hiroaki Sato told reporters.

The nine died after torrents of muddy water gushed into the facility when a nearby river overflowed.

Heavy rain caused by the typhoon, which made landfall in Iwate on Aug. 30, 2016, claimed a total of 28 lives in the prefecture and Hokkaido.

In Iwate, the typhoon damaged over 4,500 houses. As of June 1 this year, 260 people were still living in temporary housing. Jiji Press