Japan decided to distribute subsidies to areas that were hit hard by heavy rains. The subsidy is for recovery operations and rebuilding. Evacuees, on the other hand, would face an unknown future about where they would relocate and remake their lives.

Floods and mudslides took the lives of 220 people in Hiroshima, Okayama, Ehime and other prefectures in western Japan. Hokkaido was also hit by the rains and was equally devastated. The affected people and prefectures will be eligible for the subsidy.

Japan’s current government has decided to financially supporting the reconstruction of things that need to be repaired. These include roads, bridges, schools and agricultural facilities.

A local man, name withheld, said he wants to see the speed up process of rebuilding the afflicted areas. He lost his home and everything else during the rains. He shared that house with his parents and lost it after a levee gave way.

The agricultural damage from the rains totalled about $144.72 million, which is enough to build back some of the important and urgent structures. Hiroshima accounts for the largest subsidy at $22.5 Million.

Small and mid-sized companies stood at $4.2 Billion. Okayama will need $2.5 Billion. The disaster forced people to evacuate and most of them decided to stay in temporary shelters but are now hoping to return to their old homes and settle down where they were devastated.

A 61-year-old says that privacy is a big issue because a tent isn’t exactly private. The senior citizen is among the 60 people staying at a temporary shelter center in Uwajima. She says that she saw the road get destroyed as the rains started increasing in power.

Another senior citizen, 80, says that they cannot live in fear and want the authorities to build a landslide-proof system to prevent more flooding in the future. She was rescued from her flooded home in Mabi, is currently staying at her daughter’s home.

Reference: Western Japan, other areas hit by heavy rains to receive extra gov’t aid