The swirling Takahashi river swept away all the efforts of peach trees the Kariya family had made in Okayama prefecture.
SOJA, July 10 ― The Japanese government has issued new alerts over record rains that have killed more than 200 people and left dozens missing in central and western Japan.
The torrential rains caused heavy floods and landslides across central and western parts of the country, prompting evacuation orders for nearly four million people.
In Soja city, Okayama prefecture, the swirling Takahashi river water burst its 5-meter banks and swept away all the efforts of fruit trees and greenhouses that the Kariya family had made.
“There was a greenhouse here. Where has it gone?” said 69-year-old Yuriko Kariya, with a big sigh.
Her husband, Mamoru Kariya, 71, said he has been in the farming business for about 50 years. “I have never gone through anything as bad as the storms and floods that have marked this year,” he stressed.
And the worst thing in flooded fields is the mess that the flood leaves behind.
Now the old couple waste no time but try to clear multiple landslides that coated green houses in mud.
“If the roots dry out, the trees may die,” Mamoru Kariya explained. “The disaster costs us millions of yen, but we should be grateful that we are still alive.”