西日本にしにほん豪雨ごううから7年ねん 愛媛えひめ 各地かくちで献花けんか 犠牲ぎせい者しゃを悼いたむ

Seven years after the heavy rain disaster in western Japan, in Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture, where 13 people—the highest number in Ehime, including disaster-related deaths—lost their lives, people were seen offering flowers in front of a monument commemorating the victims on the 7th.

Also, in Ōzu City, Ehime Prefecture, where the river flooded and there were casualties, a flower offering stand was set up at the city hall, and visitors paid their respects to the victims.

Uwajima City: Including disaster-related deaths, the highest number in the prefecture—13 people—lost their lives. In Uwajima City, due to the heavy rains in western Japan, there was flooding of houses and damage to citrus orchards throughout the city. In particular, in Yoshida Town, a massive landslide occurred, causing especially severe damage.

The city prepared flowers for offering at a park with a monument commemorating the heavy rain disaster on the 7th, in order to mourn the 13 victims—the highest number in the prefecture, including disaster-related deaths.

People from the neighborhood and others visited the park one after another from the morning to offer flowers, quietly placing white chrysanthemums and joining their hands in prayer.

A woman in her 60s who lost a former coworker said, Every time it rains, I remember that day.

I hope that such a disaster never happens again, they said.

A man in his 50s, who said a landslide occurred in his neighborhood at the time, recalled, I remember it vividly.

In about 30 minutes, the roads quickly became flooded.

Nothing was delivered to the shelter for about three days, and it made me realize that we need to always be prepared for disasters, they said.

In Ōzu City, five people, including disaster-related deaths, have died. In Ōzu City, the Hiji River, a first-class river flowing through the city, overflowed due to the heavy rains in western Japan, resulting in the deaths of five people, including disaster-related causes.

On the 7th, a flower offering stand was set up in the city halls lobby, and about 30 people, including Mayor Takahisa Ninomiya and city employees, gathered to observe a moment of silence.

In this context, Mayor Ninomiya expressed his condolences for the victims, stating, We will never let the memory of the disaster fade and will pass it down to future generations.

After that, local people visited the flower stand one after another, and some could be seen offering white chrysanthemums and putting their hands together in prayer, their eyes filled with tears.

A woman in her 40s from Ōzu City who came to offer flowers said, At that time, my house was flooded above floor level from early in the morning, and I had to live in an evacuation shelter.

Every year, when the rainy season comes, I remember the heavy rains.

I hope that measures such as the maintenance of dams and levees will continue to move forward, they said.

An elderly couple in their 80s from Ozu City said, At that time, the roads were flooded like waterfalls, and someone from the same neighborhood died.

Even now, the release of water from the dam is still very scary.

The population of the area has been declining since the heavy rain, and even after seven years, the disappointment is still great; the recovery is yet to come, they said.

</blockquote>“Turbid water up to their knees” Some of the fire brigade members who continued their activities in dangerous situations responded to the survey. Among them were those who, while persuading residents who hesitated to evacuate, found the muddy floodwaters rising up to their knees, continuing their activities side by side with danger.

Okazaki Hiroyuki, 61, the deputy chief of the Ozu City Fire Brigade, was the division chief of the Shirataki district along the Hijikawa River seven years ago, commanding about 70 brigade members.

Mr. Okazaki and his team stayed overnight at the station near the river from the night of July 6th, working to remove earth and sand from the landslide site and piling sandbags near buildings at risk of flooding.

The following morning, flooding began in the guard station, so while Mr. Okazaki was carrying out a generator and portable toilets from the warehouse in the back, water started to flow around his feet.

In the blink of an eye, the water was waist-deep, and Okazaki-san was almost swept away by the current.

After that, Okazaki-san continued to go around the area with other members of the group, urging residents to evacuate, but while persuading an elderly woman who was hesitant to leave, he said the muddy floodwaters rose up to their knees.

At the end, he led a woman by the hand to evacuate, and there was no one left behind in the area where Mr. Okazaki lived.

While continuing activities that are always accompanied by danger, Mr. Okazaki says he also felt there were challenges in gathering information.

At the time, Mr. Okazaki communicated with the team members by mobile phone, but since he was busy with activities, he often couldnt answer calls, and the sound of the rain made it impossible to hear the disaster prevention radio. As a result, it was not easy to grasp the extent of the damage in the area or the safety of the other team members.

Later, when they looked out over the area from the hilltop temple, they realized the extent of the damage.

Mr. Okazaki said, The water level rose rapidly and it was a dangerous situation.

I think the members were able to act just as they had practiced in training, but if they had made even one mistake, I dont know what might have happened.

Because of that disaster, I have come to believe even more strongly that the lives of our members must be our top priority, he said.

New initiatives to protect the safety of members have also begun. Learning from the experience of the heavy rains in western Japan, new measures are being implemented to ensure the safety of members during their activities.

The Ozu River and National Highway Office, together with fire brigades from Ozu City, Seiyo City, and Uchiko Town in the Hijikawa River basin, have jointly developed a new system called Digital Flood Prevention, which allows users to share each others location information and more via smartphones. This system was fully introduced starting this year.

This system using LINE allows users to obtain information such as river water levels and weather warnings with a single touch from the chat screen, and also enables sharing the location information of active members and photos taken on site, which can be checked on a map.

In April of this year, a trial session of the system was held with the participation of the members, and it is expected that smooth information sharing will lead to improved safety for the members.

In the fire brigades of the Hijikawa river basin, regular drills are held to learn flood prevention techniques such as sandbag stacking and rope work, especially after the heavy rains in western Japan. In these sessions, they also incorporate training to share location information using the system.

During the heavy rain disaster in western Japan, Kazuo Yano, the leader of the Ozu City Flood Prevention Corps, said, If we had been able to gather information more quickly during the disaster, I feel that we could have evacuated residents sooner.

I think its convenient because you can see all the information on one screen, they said.

*Note: For Kazu, the left part of the character 祥 is 示. Expert: It is most important for residents to evacuate thoroughly before danger approaches on their own initiative. Regarding the results of the survey, Professor Ryo Moriwaki of the Ehime University Disaster Information Research Center pointed out, There were more members who felt in danger than I had expected, and it was a disaster where it would not have been surprising if there had been casualties.

Regarding the fact that many members felt in danger while calling for evacuation, it was said, In their determination to carry out the evacuation guidance, there are times when they neglect their own safety.

By establishing criteria within the group for when to suspend or withdraw activities, safety can be ensured.

Professor Moriwaki also stated, If residents are able to evacuate to a safe place, there will be no need for members to call out to them in dangerous situations, so it is most important for residents themselves to make sure they evacuate thoroughly before danger approaches.

If tools like digital flood control that help you pause and make decisions are available... Regarding the challenges of sharing information during activities: If it becomes easier to obtain information such as what kind of damage is occurring in other areas and what might happen next, it will become easier to make decisions during activities.

When operating in urgent situations, there may not be time to gather information, but I think systems like Digital Flood Control can be very helpful when you need to pause and decide what action to take.