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Floods in Northern Kyushu
Please pray for northern Kyushu (Saga and Fukuoka prefectures), as torrential rains have caused widespread flooding. At one point, many areas were under a Level 5 (the maximum) warning for landslides, and 870,000 people were issued evacuation instructions. That level was lifted, but it might be issued again. As of this writing, three fatalities have been reported, but of course it’s too early to know the status of many areas, so there are probably many more.
Also, the rain is expected to continue and expand northeast, so additional flood warnings are also in effect for eight prefectures of southern and central Honshu.
As of this writing, here are three recent news pages in English:
- NHK World – reporting video
- Kyodo News – thorough report with photos and explanations
- Mainichi News: more heavy rain expected over the next two days
Of course the situation is likely to change rapidly.
The Kyushu Christ Disaster Relief Center (九キ災, “Kyukisai”) is preparing to mobilize in response.
Two Disasters in 48 Hours
While relief efforts continue in Okayama and other places after the floods in July, this week in early September two other areas of Japan felt the pain.
Within 48 hours of each other, the strongest typhoon in 25 years ripped through the second-largest metropolitan area of Japan, and an earthquake in Japan’s northern-most region triggered landslides and left millions without power…
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Helping a nursing home
CRASH volunteer staff pastors have been working in both Hiroshima and Okayama Prefectures providing leadership and administration. Here is one example. On July 26th, a team of over 30 Japanese and Korean volunteers, led by a CRASH pastor, went into the heart of the mountains in Okayama Prefecture to help a special care nursing home. 98% of the residents need at least Level 2 nursing care, so it was a miracle that the staff on duty were able to quickly carry everyone to the second floor before the first floor was submerged. The volunteer team worked in the blazing sun to clean mud from the furniture and equipment. (Click on any photo to view it full size.)
More photos of this and many other activities can be found on CRASH’s Facebook page.
