More than 207 thousand families affected. The thermometer hits 30 degrees. Concern for the health and hygiene of the population. More than 7 thousand people remain in shelters. Risk of new avalanches. Questions about the impact of global warming.
Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Without water and with temperatures hitting over 30 degrees, with the air weighed down by the smell of mud and accumulated dirt. It is the condition in which more than 207 thousand Japanese families are affected by the floods that killed more than 200 people last week.
The rise in temperatures also raises concerns about the health and hygiene of citizens. At present there are 204 confirmed deaths and dozens of people still missing. The supply of gas and electricity has now been re-established in almost all homes affected, while around 207,500 households are still without running water.
About 7 thousand people remain in reception centers, many of which are organized in school gyms, where there is no air conditioning and there are few accessible bathrooms. There are also difficulties in bringing aid, due to insufficient staff and vehicles and damage to the railway system of the region. This is the most extensive failure to Japanese infrastructure since the great earthquake of 2011.
The authorities recommend that the population remain alert, and warn that the risk of new avalanches remains. The torrential rains that hit Japan are the most serious since 1982, and they are part of a crescendo of bad weather in the archipelago. Recent disasters, including the flood that killed dozens of people last year, raises many questions about the impact of global warming in the region.