Over 800 Houses Inundated in Chiba Pref. due to Typhoon

Narita, Chiba Pref., Sept. 24 (Jiji Press)--Heavy rain from Typhoon Dujuan, the 25th typhoon of the year, has flooded a total of 884 residential buildings above or below floor level in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, the prefectural government said Thursday.

The total included newly counted 56 buildings in the town of Sakae, which faces Inbanuma, a major lake in northern Chiba. Embankments around the lake breached due to the disaster. In the city of Sakura, where the Takasaki River, which flows into the lake, flooded, 300 houses were inundated above floor level.

The total is expected to rise as the prefectural government has yet to count the number of affected houses in the city of Narita, which experienced widespread flooding. Some areas around the lake remain flooded as work to drain water has not made progress.

Areas around Inbanuma faced flood damage frequently in the past due to reverse flow from the Tone River. The lake has been divided into the northern and western sections in a reclamation project.

According to the Japan Water Agency, which has managed the lake since 1968, the water level in the western part of Inbanuma reached a record high of 5.04 meters early Tuesday last week. An embankment facing the northern part of the lake collapsed over a stretch of about 100 meters. An embankment breach also occurred at the Nagato River, which links the northern part of Inbanuma and the Tone River.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]