Infrastructure ministry almost completes dams
August 20 marked the fifth anniversary of a massive landslide in northern Hiroshima City. Japanese infrastructure ministry has been constructing forty check dams in thirty locations in two severely-struck areas, with 32 completed and eight nearing completion. Some completed dams have already demonstrated their effect in the event of heavy rain in 2018, stopping the flow of earth and sand.
The project at 30 locations is being conducted by the ministry, a part of the earth control and forestry projects that the government, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Hiroshima City have deployed at 99 locations in both Asanami and Asa Kita Wards. The project is scheduled to be completed within the fiscal year. Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki of Hiroshima Prefecture held a press conference on the 20th and renewed his determination to reconstruct, saying, “We will continue to promote measures from both tangible and intangible aspects so that the residents can live with a smile.”
In the northern part of Hiroshima City at dusk on August 20, 2014, heavy rain caused a series of landslides, and a large amount of sediment and driftwood destroyed downstream houses. 77 people were killed and 396 houses were completely destroyed.
