No.95 Response to Typhoon Disasters

In recent years, typhoons have been getting larger and slower, tending to bring prolonged rainfall to the same area. This year, significant damage also occurred.
Typhoon No. 15, which made landfall near Chiba City before 5 AM on September 9, 2019, is said to be the strongest on record to have landed in the Kanto region. The city opened evacuation shelters the night before, established a disaster response headquarters at 9 PM, and continued to respond until 7 AM the following morning.
This typhoon had strong winds, causing numerous fallen trees in the city and significant damage to agricultural products. The drop in pears during the harvest season was reported to be 15,160 kilograms based on inquiries conducted by the City Hall and the agricultural cooperative, with estimated damages amounting to about 12 million yen. Although the exact amount is unknown, 16 vegetable farms also suffered damage, along with other agricultural facilities being damaged.
Chiba Prefecture, in particular, experienced extensive damage, with approximately 640,000 households experiencing large-scale power outages at peak times, marking the largest blackout since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Restoration took more than two weeks, and large-scale water outages also occurred due to the stoppage of pumps at water purification facilities.
The city loaded two dump trucks with blue sheets, sandbags, and bottled drinking water and sent them as support supplies to Kisarazu City. Additionally, staff were dispatched to Kimitsu City for nine days to assist with damage assessments and the issuance of disaster certificates.
From Typhoon No. 15, it was learned that prolonged power outages can lead to water shortages. The city has been strengthening the securing of drinking water and water for daily use in line with the expansion of damage estimates each time a large-scale disaster occurs, and we would like to take this situation as a lesson.

Typhoon No. 19, which made landfall on the Izu Peninsula just before 7 PM on October 12, 2019, caused record heavy rainfall in the Kanto, Koshin, and Tohoku regions, resulting in significant damage. The city established a disaster response headquarters at 10:30 AM and completed the opening of all 21 evacuation shelters for wind and flood damage by 11 AM, issuing an evacuation recommendation by 2 PM. Around 4 PM, the Tama River exceeded the flood danger level, and I received reports from staff on site that the Omaru Yato River might overflow. If this tributary of the Tama River caused internal flooding, there was a risk of widespread flooding, particularly in the Oshitate area. Therefore, I requested the dispatch of a large drainage pump truck from the Keihin River Office, which manages the Tama River under the Kanto Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. This was heavy machinery that also participated in the regional disaster prevention drill held on October 6, 2019, and many may have seen it. It departed from Chiba Prefecture and arrived in Inagi after 10 PM, and thanks to the drainage work carried out until around 3 AM on the 13th, we were able to prevent flooding.
During this typhoon, several landslides occurred in the city, but there were no human casualties. However, in Tokyo, six rivers, including the Tama River and Asakawa, flooded, causing water damage in Hachioji City, Ome City, Akiruno City, Chofu City, Komae City, and Setagaya Ward. As of the 16th, it was reported that levees broke at 90 locations across 59 rivers in seven prefectures, including the Chikuma River in Nagano Prefecture and the Abukuma River in Fukushima Prefecture, with flooding occurring in 24 rivers managed by the national government and 229 rivers managed by 16 prefectures.
In Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, water supply facilities were damaged, leading to a large-scale water outage. After receiving a request for the dispatch of a water supply truck from the Mayor of Soma City in the early afternoon of the 13th, we departed from the fire station at 8:30 PM that day and delivered it to Soma City Hall shortly after 2 AM on the 14th.
Typhoon No. 19 marked the first large-scale evacuation in the city, with 1,375 households and 3,481 evacuees at its peak, and unprecedented flooding occurred across a wide area of eastern Japan. We will continue to provide support and hope to utilize this lesson in Inagi City's flood and wind disaster measures.
I pray for the souls of those who lost their lives in the repeated typhoon disasters, and I extend my sympathies to all those affected, wishing for a swift recovery.