11 hours ago
Japan's Emperor and Empress visit 2014 Hiroshima mudslide disaster site
Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have visited an area in the city of Hiroshima that was devastated by a rain-triggered disaster 11 years ago.
Localized downpours in August 2014 caused mudslides and landslides at a total of 166 locations in the city. Currents of mud and debris struck residential communities at the foot of the hills, resulting in 77 fatalities, including those who died later due to related causes.
The couple visited the Yagi district in Asaminami Ward on Friday. The area suffered great losses of life from the disaster. Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko visited the district as reigning emperor and empress in 2014, four months after the catastrophe.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako were briefed by land ministry officials on the sand-control dam built at the site where houses had been swept away. The couple bowed in the direction of where 23 lives were lost.
They went on to visit the Hiroshima City Torrential Rain Disaster Memorial Center, which exhibits the testimonies of survivors and documents rebuilding efforts based on the lessons learned from the disaster. The center was built in 2023.
The Empress asked the director of the facility, who is a survivor himself, if his house had been completely destroyed. The Emperor asked how the survivors' accounts were collected.
The couple also met with people who were affected by the disaster. The Emperor offered encouraging words to a survivor who lost his mother and his house in a mudslide.
