We had heavy rain this morning again. A few days before we had had much rain for days. Of course now it's the rainy season in Japan, so it's not so strange we should have much rain at this period.
But we thought we might have less rain this year when this rainy season started. It didn't rain much at the beginning of the rainy season, and we were afraid of this year's being dry rainy season. But our prediction, or my prediction at least, was wrong. I can't say the exact amount of rainfall, but it has already reached more than 500mm rainfall or more, I think. And I heard they have had about 1000mm rainfall in a certain part of Japan. 1000 mm is very high rainfall indeed. I know many parts on this globe don't have such high rainfall even in a whole year.
On only National Road Route 384 on this island, two places have already been blocked by the falling mud and trees. Our roads run through the mountainside in many parts on this island, so they can sometimes be very dangerous when we have too much rain . I can remember such blockade on a main road a few years ago. It runs between our city and a neiboring town. I had to go to the town on business a few times a week, and the road wasn't recovered till about 6 months later. During that blockade we had to made a detour. It took about more 15 minutes for us, and we had a very inconvenient time then.
I can't tell the whole story yet about this year's rainy season, but perhaps we have already had too much rain. I can't say yet how heavily our main industry, farming industry, has been damaged. I only know that much of tabaco leaves are rotten and many young rice plants have been thrown away in many rice fields. But of course those are not all loss we have had. Many vegetables must have been rotten, too. And my brother-in-law's grapes must have been bad much, I'm afraid.
I heard and saw terrible scenes caused by sudden flood in Fukuoka and Hiroshima. The woman working in the underground shopping area in Fukuoka was killed by sudden flood. She had told her friend that she might not be able to escape from the sudden flood attacking the shopping center where her working shop is located just before she died. And more than 20 people were killed by the landslide and so on in Hiroshima. My e-pals in the US and Holland saw the terrible scenes on TV and read in the newspaper. Of course they had already heard about heavy rain in Japan from me, so they must have been much interested in the news. Anyway the sad stories were the big topics in their countries too, I heard.
As for nightmares caused by flood in rainy seasons, I always remember the tragedy in Nagasaki about 15 years ago. Perhaps it was July 20, so we must have had very long rainy period that year. Our rainy season usually lasts from June to early July.
On that day Nagasaki had 200mm rainfall an hour in the late evening. 200mm rainfall an hour! It's really unbeleivable record. We had a little more than 60mm rainfall this morning, and it's the national topic of NHK news at noon today. I can say 60mm is very heavy rain from my own experience. So I can't guess what amount of rain they had 15 years ago. And people in Nagasaki hadn't also been prepared for such sudden and heavy rain that attacked them.
When many workers left their office a little later for their home that day, they found all Nagaski was covered with deep water. They coudn't see the road. All around them was only water. Nagaski is very famous for its many slopes, and the water flew from higher places to the lower ones continuously. So in lower parts the level of water grew higher and higher all at once. The place near the port, Oohato, were especially full of high water. Ohato, where the ferry and jet-foiled ships from our island reach a few times every day, is at the foot of low hill-like paces and it's very low of course. So you can guess what happened there. I herd some cars are carried away from the shore into sea.
Of course there were not any safe places except very high places that day. I still remember the scenes in which a young pretty woman was going home with water nearly to her waist near Nagasaki Station. And I can still remember the hysterical phone call to the police and the fire station asking for immediate help. But the officers were in the panic too, for they had too many emergency phone calls from too many citizens.
Many persons rushed into the hotel and piblic buildings so as to seek their shelters from the terrible flood. Of course every hotel was full because many people couldn't return to their home that night. But anyway those who coudn't have their rooms were staying on the passageways of each hotel. By the way, my brother was in Nagasaki on business that day, and he stayed at the hotel near Ohato. But he didn't know anything about the flood and the clamorous noise outside the room till the next morning. He was an early bird, and he went to bed very early that night as usual, and his room was at the top floor of the hotel. So he was surprised to know the situation when he woke up the next morning. I think he couldn't have noticed the confusion if there had been a fire at the same hotel that night.
Though our rain this year isn't so heavy as the rain in Nagasaki 15 years ago of course, we have already had enough rain. We haven't hardly seen the comletely dried ground for days. I wonder when it will stop raining. Of course I know our rainy season will be over soon and hot summer will visit us. When can we control our Mother Nature? Or is it impossible for us to master this merciless nature that is usually very kind?
07-02-'99