Severe Flood Damage in Japan in 2021 Cost ¥360 Billion

In 2021, total flood damage in Japan, including damage caused by storm surges and debris flows, came to approximately ¥360 billion. The prefectures that suffered the most were Saga, with costs of around ¥65 billion, Fukuoka with ¥52 billion, and Hiroshima with ¥42 billion.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, a breakdown of the total flood damage in 2021 included approximately ¥150 billion (41.1%) for damage to houses, crops, and other general assets; ¥200 billion (56.3%) for damage to public facilities like rivers, coasts, roads, and ports; and ¥9 billion (2.6%) for damage to public utilities such as railways, and water and electricity infrastructure. Around 15,000 buildings were damaged and the total devastated area covered roughly 18,000 hectares.

In July 2021, a stationary seasonal rain front brought heavy rain over a wide area of both eastern and western Japan, causing rivers to flood and leading to landslides. Affected prefectures included Shimane, Hiroshima, and Shizuoka, with 28 fatalities and one person missing, 60 houses completely destroyed and 100 partially destroyed. The damage for that period amounted to around ¥80 billion.

The next month, in August 2021, a slow-moving front near Japan growing in strength brought torrential rain and created similar conditions to the previous month, hitting Saga, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and other prefectures badly. There were 13 fatalities, around 50 houses completely destroyed, and another 2,000 or so houses partially destroyed, with the total damage reaching more than ¥230 billion.

Statistics for flood damage began in 1961 and the most severe amount recorded was ¥2.2 trillion in 2019, when Typhoon Hagibis hit eastern Japan causing huge devastation.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: A firefighter wades along a street in a flooded town on August 15, 2021. © AFP/Jiji.)