China News Service, July 10th. Comprehensive report, Japan suffered a large-scale heavy rainstorm this time, with heavy disasters, more than 100 people killed, and more than 80 others disappeared. AFP analyzed five major reasons for the heavy disaster. In addition to typhoon attacks, geological reasons, etc., the common use of wood in Japan to build houses. The inability to withstand the impact pressure of water flow or mudslides may also be one of the reasons for heavy casualties.
The picture shows the Japanese Self-Defense Force conducting search and rescue work in Kurashiki City.
Reason 1: Typhoon season
This heavy rain was mainly caused by the typhoon's stalking front . Japan is hit by six typhoons per year on average. Despite flood control measures such as dams and embankments, the rainfall is unprecedented this time. As of the 8th, the 72-hour rainfall measured by 118 observation stations set a record, with the rain being too fast and too heavy, making it difficult for flood control facilities to cope with.
Reason 2: Diversified geology
About 70% of Japan's land is composed of mountains and hills, and houses are often built on steep hillsides, or on plains below the hillside. These houses are vulnerable to disasters once floods or earth flows occur. The Japanese government is pushing for long-term plans to encourage residents in disaster-prone areas to relocate, and new buildings are banned in geologically fragile areas, but the plan is still underway and many are still in danger.
On July 8th local time, a large area of in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan was flooded. Aerial footage showed that many houses were surrounded by floods.
Reason 3: Wooden houses
Many houses in Japan are built with wood, especially in the countryside, traditional wooden houses are very popular. The wooden foundation of this type of house is more elastic and is ideal for shockproof, but it cannot bear the huge pressure of floods or soil and rock flow.
Reason 4: Evacuation orders have no coerciveness
When the rain was at its worst, the Japanese authorities issued evacuation orders to about 5 million people, but these orders were only suggestions but no coerciveness, and many people ignored these orders. Disaster management expert Hirotaki Hirose said: "Humans have a so-called normalization bias, which means that people try not to evacuate and ignore negative information. These people who are unwilling to evacuate encounters sudden earth and rock flows and floods, and it is difficult to respond immediately." In addition, Japan will issue some authority to issue evacuation orders to local officials who have no experience in disaster management, which is also a problem.
Reason 5: Climate change
Scientists have warned that global warming may cause the frequency of catastrophic extreme climates such as heavy rain to increase the frequency of catastrophic extreme climates. Many residents in Japan's disaster area said that they had never seen the rain in their lives. This shows that experiences with climate and natural disasters over the years may no longer apply.
