As residents of flood-hit Chiba Prefecture rebuild, concerns about the future linger

Chiba – While residential areas in Chiba Prefecture are finally clear of floodwaters one month after heavy rain from Typhoon Dujuan doused the region, many people are concerned about the future.

In the Mabashi district in the town of Shisui, where 15 houses were flooded after a collapsed embankment blocked a river, floodwaters receded on Oct. 13.

“I’m hesitant to repair my home until I get assurance that I’ll be safe in the future,” said Sanae Suzuki, 56, who was clad in protective clothing while cleaning the mess left behind. Floodwaters had reached about 55 centimeters above floor level in her home.

“I can’t decide whether to continue living here or relocate elsewhere,” she said.

“We’re finally at the starting line,” said Yuta Hoshina, 44, whose home needs new tatami mats due to the flooding.

Levees were breached in four locations at Inbanuma, a major lake in northern Chiba Prefecture. Emergency restoration work has since been completed, however, the surrounding farmland remains covered in mud.

Akihisa Suzuki, a 76-year-old resident of the city of Narita who mainly grows radishes, eggplants and asparagus, saw his farmland of about 5,000 square meters, including four greenhouses, flooded for 10 days, destroying all of his crops.

His greenhouses are still caked with dried mud and all of his heating appliances and tillers are broken. “I won’t be able to grow vegetables again until around next spring,” Suzuki said.

Restoration work on the Anegasaki-Nagaura section on the Uchibo Line of East Japan Railway, which was hit by landslides, is expected to take another two months to be completed.

As a measure to remedy the situation, the Chiba Prefectural Government and JR East have started lending power-assisted bicycles free of charge.

Noting that it takes about 25 minutes by bicycle, much shorter than around 40 minutes on a replacement bus, Ayumi Hirano from the city of Kisarazu said, “I plan on using the bicycle when it’s nice outside, and the bus when the weather is bad.”

“I just want it to be restored as soon as possible,” 31-year-old Hirano said of the train section.

According to Chiba Prefecture’s disaster response headquarters, 10 people were killed and 37 injured in the prefecture by the typhoon as of Tuesday. A total of 795 houses were either destroyed or severely damaged and 1,534 houses were flooded. Damage related to the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector exceeded ¥25 billion ($158 million).