2023-07-31 11:06:00
90% of the dead are from landslides. Debris flows and falling into the sea narrowly escaped. Thoughts of a brother who lost his sister.[07/31 20:06]
It has been 30 years since the August 6, 1993 heavy rain disaster. Heavy rain killed 48 people, mainly in Kagoshima City, and one person went missing. 90% of the deaths were due to landslides.
This time, it is the 30-year-old testimonies of people who were thrown into the sea by the debris flow of Ryugamizu and who lost their families in landslides.
August 6, 1993, image of Ryugamizu area. From the cliffs beside the road, muddy water mixed with large stones cascades down like a waterfall.
At Ryugamizu Station on the JR Nippo Main Line, a train carrying more than 300 people was blocked by a landslide and stopped.
(Mr. Tsuyoshi Nishimuta) “Maybe he got off the train from here.”
My name is Tsuyoshi Nishimuta (73) and I live in Aira City. On that day, I was heading to Kagoshima City by JR train to celebrate the housewarming of his friend’s house.
I got off the train that had stopped driving and evacuated to a gas station along Route 10. After that, we were wary of landslides and moved to the seaside as far away from the mountains as possible. However, after 7:00 p.m., a large debris flow reaching the sea hit the line of people.
(Tsuyoshi Nishimuta) “The house was still up there.
Dozens of people were swept out to sea, and three died. Mr. Nishimuta was also thrown into the sea.
(Tsuyoshi Nishimuta) “When I surfaced, there was a light car, so I remember using it to come out to the surface.”
After getting to the shore under his own power, he helped other people who had been thrown ashore.
(Tsuyoshi Nishimuta) “I was told to come over here because there was a person with an injured leg, so I swam out to sea and brought him there. His legs were connected by a piece of skin. His legs were dangling. Another person tied him with a belt to stop the bleeding.”
Even now, 30 years later, I can still hear the rumbling of the mountains that day.
(Tsuyoshi Nishimuta) “It’s constantly roaring. Even though the rain has stopped. I thought I might die for a moment.”
In the August 6th heavy rain, landslides occurred in various places other than Ryugamizu. In Minayoshi-cho, Kagoshima City, a mountain behind a house collapsed, and a parent and child were involved.
(Mr. Harumi Matsuo) “(Father) said that there was a crunching sound coming from the back mountain, and it was a great sound.”
Harumi Matsuo (68), whose home was damaged 30 years ago. Her father, Katsumi, was safely rescued, but she lost her sister, Katsuko, who was two years younger than her.
I was in Amami Oshima on a business trip that day, so I wasn’t at home when the landslide occurred.
(Harumi Matsuo) “My sister was mostly stuck at home. She was paralyzed and could walk, but she was always at home and looked after by her mother. I grabbed it twice, but it said that the second sediment came and washed away.”
The next morning, Katsuko was found in the sand on the premises.
(Mr. Harumi Matsuo) “I had no house after the disaster, and I spent the night at the community center in the village. As time passes, I forget things, but when I watch the video, I remember them. I want to go to the temple.”
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