No. 48 Support for flood damage caused by the collapse of the Kinugawa embankment

(Published in the November 15, 2015 issue of Koho Inagi)

This year's Typhoon No. 18 brought record heavy rain. Inagi City opened a disaster response headquarters at 3:16 p.m. on September 9, 2015, following the announcement of landslide warning information, and began responding. There was no direct major damage, and the response was reduced to information gathering at 5:35 p.m. that day.
Although No. 18 itself turned into an extratropical cyclone after landing on the Japanese archipelago, due to the influence of No. 17, which continued to remain in the Pacific Ocean, even after it had passed, moist air flowed in from the south, and belt-shaped rain clouds stagnated from north to south. Record rainfall occurred from the northern Kanto region to the southern Tohoku region. There were many locations that broke records, the highest in observation history, and the Japan Meteorological Agency named it the ``September 2015 Kanto-Tohoku Heavy Rain''.
The city was relieved that there was no damage, but the heavy rain continued the next day, and just after 8 a.m. on the 10th, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications requested the preparation of dispatch of emergency fire aid teams to neighboring prefectures. did.
The fire department headquarters set up in Tokyo are the Tokyo Fire Department and the Inagi City Fire Department, and in the event of a disaster, Inagi City also participates as a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Emergency Fire Assistance Team.
After 9:00 p.m. on the 10th, there was an actual dispatch request, and the team was assembled, and at 1:20 a.m. on the 11th, they departed for the Ibaraki Prefecture Toride Green Sports Center, the gathering point, which had suffered flooding due to the Kinugawa embankment bursting. I went to support Joso City.
The first dispatch team consisted of a firefighting platoon (one pump truck) of five people, an emergency platoon (one ambulance) of three people, and a support platoon (one large bus) of three people, and carried out activities for three days until the 13th. Did. The Inagi unit's activities include rescuing 50 people and transporting 4 critically ill patients. The area that was flooded was said to be one-third of the city area, so the rubber boats we had brought with us came in handy.
The first detachment initially worked for three days without getting enough rest before being replaced by the second detachment. During the second dispatch, in addition to rescue operations, we were instructed to confirm safety and search for missing persons, and in the four days ending on the 16th, we were engaged in 186 search operations.
I am very happy that we were able to contribute to Joso City by dispatching a total of 18 people from 5 teams, and that all of them returned safely.
I have heard that during the recent flood in Joso City, there were issues with cooperation between the city's disaster response headquarters, the fire department, the prefecture, the police, and the Self-Defense Forces, as well as the sharing of personal information of affected residents.
In order to make use of the lessons learned through dispatch to actual disasters in the local area, our city will carry out even more practical disaster prevention training, and enjoy the benefits of operating a fire department independently, so that when a disaster occurs, We will also strive to cooperate with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the police, and the Self-Defense Forces.