Over the last few days, Japan experienced record rainfall. In fact, during a six-hour period, the country had 15 inches of rain, not including the rainfall sustained outside of that period. The flooding caused destruction, including mudslides that caused some houses to collapse.
More than 40,000 people were encouraged to evacuate as a result of the flooding. Although the evacuations were voluntary, many residents decided to stay home out of fear of catching the Wuhan coronavirus.
#EmergencyWarning (#????), Japan's highest warning level, is in place in southern Kyushu. 381mm of #rain fell in just 6 hours, making it the all-time record. Kuma River has overflowed, causing floods and houses to collapse. https://t.co/HtUY6Rd9wT pic.twitter.com/gB5eHForUb
— Sayaka Mori (@sayakasofiamori) July 3, 2020
A bridge collapsed, forcing local authorities to evacuate area residents. 40,000 troops were deployed to the Kumamoto region to rescue stranded residents.
??????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/FeFVtEqWQM
— ?? (@ninaJaneway) July 4, 2020
Torrential rainfall today in #Kumamoto (southwest #Japan) forced authorities to fully operate a dam #spillway which caused severe flooding in the downstream area. This was necessary to prevent overtopping of the dam and potential dam break! #Flood #Hydraulics #Dam_Engineering pic.twitter.com/ccUiRwb3eg
— Dr Mohammad Heidarzadeh (@Mo_Heidarzadeh) July 4, 2020
Hey my friends, a city in Southern Japan is now confronted with a huge flood damages which happened yesterday. I’d make fundraiser merch for this disaster asap. Need your help!!!!! pic.twitter.com/COHiVRLn3Y
— KRUELTY (@krueltyjphc) July 5, 2020
The worst part, however, was that nursing home residents were severely impacted. According to The Guardian, 65 residents and roughly 30 caregivers were trapped in a nursing home. Floodwaters and mud poured into the residence. On Sunday, 51 residents were rescued and taken to the hospital for treatment. Three of the residents had hypothermia. In total, 18 nursing home residents were confirmed to be dead. Another 16 people, some of which included nursing home residents, were presumed dead. Another 14 were deemed missing.